New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded,
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Then Azariah son of Obed, moved by the Spirit of God,
2 and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
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went out to meet Asa. He said, "Listen carefully, Asa, and listen Judah and Benjamin: God will stick with you as long as you stick with him. If you look for him he will let himself be found; but if you leave him he'll leave you.
3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them.
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For a long time Israel didn't have the real God, nor did they have the help of priest or teacher or book.
4 But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.
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But when they were in trouble and got serious, and decided to seek God, the God of Israel, God let himself be found.
5 “During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land.
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At that time it was a dog-eat-dog world; life was constantly up for grabs - no one, regardless of country, knew what the next day might bring.
6 Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem.
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Nation battered nation, city pummeled city. God let loose every kind of trouble among them.
7 But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”
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"But it's different with you: Be strong. Take heart. Payday is coming!"
8 When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, which stood in front of the entry room of the LORD ’s Temple.
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Asa heard the prophecy of Azariah son of Obed, took a deep breath, then rolled up his sleeves, and went to work: He cleaned out the obscene and polluting sacred shrines from the whole country of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. He spruced up the Altar of God that was in front of The Temple porch.
9 Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
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Then he called an assembly for all Judah and Benjamin, including those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living there at the time (for many from Israel had left their homes and joined forces with Asa when they saw that God was on his side).
10 The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring, during the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
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They all arrived in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign
11 On that day they sacrificed to the LORD 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle.
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for a great assembly of worship. From their earlier plunder they offered sacrifices of 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep for the worship.
12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.
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Then they bound themselves in a covenant to seek God, the God of their fathers, wholeheartedly, holding nothing back.
13 They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman.
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And they agreed that anyone who refused to seek God, the God of Israel, should be killed, no matter who it was, young or old, man or woman.
14 They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the LORD with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding.
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They shouted out their promise to God, a joyful sound accompanied with blasts from trumpets and rams' horns.
15 All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side.
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The whole country felt good about the covenant promise - they had given their promise joyfully from the heart. Anticipating the best, they had sought God - and he showed up, ready to be found. God gave them peace within and without - a most peaceable kingdom!
16 King Asa even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
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In his clean-up of the country, Asa went so far as to remove his mother, Queen Maacah, from her throne because she had built a shockingly obscene image of the sex goddess Asherah. Asa tore it down, smashed it, and burned it up in the Kidron Valley.
17 Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life.
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Unfortunately he didn't get rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. But he was well-intentioned - his heart was in the right place, loyal to God.
18 He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.
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All the gold and silver vessels and artifacts that he and his father had consecrated for holy use he installed in The Temple of God.
19 So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
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There wasn't a trace of war up to the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.