¶ And the Spirit¹ of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:

And he went out to meet Asa², and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD³ is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him,⁴ he will be found of you; but if ye forsake⁵ him, he will forsake you.

Now for a long⁶ season Israel hath been without the true God⁷, and without a teaching⁸ priest, and without law⁹.

But when they in their trouble¹⁰ did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them¹¹.

And in those times there was no peace¹² to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations¹³ were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.

And nation¹⁴ was destroyed¹⁵ of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

Be ye strong¹⁶ therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work¹⁷ shall be rewarded.

¶ And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded¹⁸ the prophet, he took courage¹⁹, and put away the abominable idols²⁰ out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities²¹ which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD²², that was before the porch of the LORD.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers²³ with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell²⁴ to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw²⁵ that the LORD his God was with him.

¶ So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month²⁶, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

And they offered²⁷ unto the LORD the same time²⁸, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

And they entered²⁹ into a covenant to seek³⁰ the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

That whosoever³¹ would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small³² or great, whether man or woman.

And they sware³³ unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets³⁴, and with cornets.

And all Judah rejoiced³⁵ at the oath: for they had sworn³⁶ with all their heart, and sought him³⁷ with their whole desire; and he was³⁸ found of them: and the LORD³⁹ gave them rest round about.

And also concerning Maachah⁴⁰ the mother⁴¹ of Asa the king, he removed⁴² her from being queen, because she had made an idol⁴³ in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

But the high places⁴⁴ were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa⁴⁵ was perfect all his days.

And he brought⁴⁶ into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth⁴⁷ year of the reign of Asa.