Dual Panel1God’s <0430> Spirit <07307> came <01961> upon <05921> Azariah <05838> son <01121> of Oded <05752>.
2He met <06440> <03318> Asa <0609> and told <0559> him, “Listen <08085> to me, Asa <0609> and all <03605> Judah <03063> and Benjamin <01144>! The Lord <03068> is with <05973> you when you are <01961> loyal to <05973> him. If <0518> you seek <01875> him, he will respond <04672> to you, but if <0518> you reject <05800> him, he will reject <05800> you.
3For a long <07227> time <03117> Israel <03478> had no <03808> true <0571> God <0430>, or <03808> priest <03548> to instruct <03384> them, or <03808> law <08451>.
4Because of their distress <06862>, they turned back <07725> to <05921> the Lord <03068> God <0430> of Israel <03478>. They sought <01245> him and he responded <04672> to them.
5In those <01992> days no one <0369> could travel <0935> <03318> safely <07965>, for <03588> total <07227> chaos <04103> had overtaken <05921> all <03605> the people <03427> of the surrounding lands <0776>.
6One nation <01471> was crushed <03807> by another <01471>, and one city <05892> by another <05892>, for <03588> God <0430> caused <02000> them to be in great turmoil <06869>.
7But as for you <0859>, be strong <02388> and don’t <0408> get discouraged <07503>, for <03588> your work <06468> will be <03426> rewarded <07939>.”
8When Asa <0609> heard <08085> these <0428> words <01697> and the prophecy <05016> of Oded <05752> the prophet <05030>, he was encouraged <02388>. He removed <05674> the detestable idols <08251> from the entire <03605> land <0776> of Judah <03063> and Benjamin <01144> and from <04480> the cities <05892> he had <0834> seized <03920> in the Ephraimite <0669> hill country <02022>. He repaired <02318> the altar <04196> of the Lord <03068> in front of <06440> the porch <0197> of the Lord’s <03068> temple.
9He <0853> assembled <06908> all <03605> Judah <03063> and Benjamin <01144>, as well as the settlers <01481> from Ephraim <0669>, Manasseh <04519>, and Simeon <08095> who had come to live <05307> with <05921> them. Many people <07230> from Israel <03478> had come there to live when they saw <07200> that <03588> the Lord <03068> his God <0430> was with <05973> him.
10They assembled <06908> in Jerusalem <03389> in the third <07992> month <02320> of the fifteenth <06240> <02568> year <08141> of Asa’s <0609> reign <04438>.
11At that time <03117> they sacrificed <02076> to the Lord <03068> some of <04480> the plunder <07998> they had brought <0935> back, including 700 <03967> <07651> head of cattle <01241> and 7,000 <0505> <07651> sheep <06629>.
12They solemnly agreed <01285> <0935> to seek <01875> the Lord <03068> God <0430> of their ancestors <01> with their whole <03605> heart <03824> and being <05315> <03605>.
13Anyone <03605> who <0834> would not <03808> seek <01875> the Lord <03069> God <0430> of Israel <03478> would be executed <04191>, whether <04480> they were young <06996> or <05704> old <01419>, male <0376> or <05704> female <0802>.
14They swore <07650> their allegiance to the Lord <03068>, shouting <06963> their approval loudly <01419> and sounding <08643> trumpets <02689> and horns <07782>.
15All <03605> Judah <03063> was happy <08055> about <05921> the oath <07621>, because <03588> they made the vow <07650> with their whole <03605> heart <03824>. They willingly <07522> sought <01245> the Lord <03068> and he responded <04672> to them. He made <05117> them secure <05117> on every side <05439>.
16King <04428> Asa <0609> also <01571> removed <05493> Maacah <04601> his grandmother <0517> from her position as queen mother <01377> because she had <0834> made <06213> a loathsome <04656> Asherah pole <0842>. Asa <0609> cut down <03772> her Asherah pole <04656> and crushed <01854> and burned <08313> it in the Kidron <06939> Valley <05158>.
17The high places <01116> were not <03808> eliminated <05493> from Israel <03478>, yet <07535> Asa <0609> was <01961> wholeheartedly <03824> devoted <08003> to the Lord throughout <03605> his lifetime <03117>.
18He brought <0935> the holy items <06944> that his father <01> and he had made <06942> into God’s <0430> temple <01004>, including the silver <03701>, gold <02091>, and other articles <03627>.
19There was <01961> no <03808> more war <04421> until <05704> the thirty-fifth <02568> <07970> year <08141> of Asa’s <0609> reign <04438>.