1 Então veio o Espírito de Deus sobre Azarias, filho de Odede.
2 E saiu ao encontro de Asa, e disse-lhe: Ouvi-me, Asa, e todo o Judá e Benjamim: O Senhor está convosco, enquanto vós estais com ele, e, se o buscardes, o achareis; porém, se o deixardes, vos deixará.
3 E Israel esteve por muitos dias sem o verdadeiro Deus, e sem sacerdote que o ensinasse, e sem lei.
4 Mas quando na sua angústia voltaram para o Senhor Deus de Israel, e o buscaram, o acharam.
5 E naqueles tempos não havia paz, nem para o que saía, nem para o que entrava, mas muitas perturbações sobre todos os habitantes daquelas terras.
6 Porque nação contra nação e cidade contra cidade se despedaçavam; porque Deus os perturbara com toda a angústia.
7 Mas esforçai-vos, e não desfaleçam as vossas mãos; porque a vossa obra tem uma recompensa.
8 Ouvindo, pois, Asa estas palavras, e a profecia do profeta Odede, cobrou ânimo e tirou as abominações de toda a terra, de Judá e de Benjamim, como também das cidades que tomara nas montanhas de Efraim, e renovou o altar do Senhor, que estava diante do pórtico do Senhor.
9 E reuniu a todo o Judá, e Benjamim, e com eles os estrangeiros de Efraim e Manassés, e de Simeão; porque muitos de Israel tinham passado a ele, vendo que o Senhor seu Deus era com ele.
10 E ajuntaram-se em Jerusalém no terceiro mês; no ano décimo do reinado de Asa.
11 E no mesmo dia ofereceram em sacrifício ao Senhor, do despojo que trouxeram, setecentos bois e sete mil ovelhas.
12 E entraram na aliança para buscarem o Senhor Deus de seus pais, com todo o seu coração, e com toda a sua alma;
13 E de que todo aquele que não buscasse ao Senhor Deus de Israel, morresse; assim o menor como o maior, tanto o homem como a mulher.
14 E juraram ao Senhor, em alta voz, com júbilo e com trombetas e buzinas.
15 E todo o Judá se alegrou deste juramento; porque de todo o seu coração juraram, e de toda a sua vontade o buscaram, e o acharam; e o Senhor lhes deu repouso ao redor.
16 E também a Maaca, sua mãe, o rei Asa depôs, para que não fosse mais rainha, porquanto fizera um horrível ídolo, a Aserá; e Asa destruiu o seu horrível ídolo, e o despedaçou, e o queimou junto ao ribeiro de Cedrom.
17 Os altos, porém, não foram tirados de Israel; contudo o coração de Asa foi perfeito todos os seus dias.
18 E trouxe, à casa de Deus, as coisas consagradas por seu pai, e as coisas que ele mesmo tinha consagrado: prata, ouro e vasos.
19 E não houve guerra até ao ano trigésimo quinto do reinado de Asa.
1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. LORD is with you while ye are with him. And if ye seek him, he will be found of you, but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 Now for a long time Israel was without the TRUE God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
4 But when in their distress they turned to LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.
5 And in those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
6 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city. For God vexed them with all adversity.
7 But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack. For your work shall be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephra
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon, for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that LORD his God was with him.
10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they sacrificed to LORD in that day of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 And they entered into the covenant to seek LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul.
13 And that whoever would not seek LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they swore to LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And 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 by them. And LORD gave them rest round about.
16 And also he removed Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah. And Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18 And 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.
19 And there was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.