1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear{+} me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Yahweh is with you{+}, while you{+} are with him; and if you{+} seek him, he will be found of you{+}; but if you{+} forsake him, he will forsake you{+}. 3Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: 4But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5And in those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great vexations were on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God vexed them with all adversity. 7But be{+} strong, and don't let your{+} hands be slack; for your{+} work will be rewarded. 8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the detestable things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Yahweh, that was before the porch of Yahweh. 9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. 10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11And they sacrificed to Yahweh in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12And they entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; 13and that whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14And they swore to Yahweh with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and Yahweh gave them rest round about. 16And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made a horrible image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrible image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. 17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19And there was no more war to the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.