The Reforms of Asa

15 Now athe Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out 1to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. bThe Lord is with you while you are with Him. cIf you seek Him, He will be found by you; but dif you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 eFor a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a fteaching priest, and without glaw; 4 but hwhen in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 iSo nation was 2destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of 3Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities jwhich he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord. 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and kthose who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 lAnd they offered to the Lord 4at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the 5spoil they had brought. 12 Then they mentered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 nand whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel owas to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and psought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them qrest all around.

16 Also he removed rMaachah, the 6mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of 7Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 17 But sthe 8high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.

18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. 19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa’s Treaty with Syria

16 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, aBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, bthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 3 “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

4 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. 6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani’s Message to Asa

7 And at that time cHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: d“Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Were ethe Ethiopians and fthe Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your ghand. 9 hFor the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this iyou have done foolishly; therefore from now on jyou shall have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and kput him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

Illness and Death of Asa

11 lNote that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he mdid not seek the Lord, but the physicians.

13 nSo Asa 1rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb, which he had 2made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled owith spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made pa very great burning for him.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17 Then aJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of bJudah and in the cities of Ephraim cwhich Asa his father had taken. 3 Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought 1the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to dthe acts of Israel. 5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah egave presents to Jehoshaphat, fand he had riches and honor in abundance. 6 And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover ghe removed the 2high places and wooden images from Judah.

7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, hto teach in the cities of Judah. 8 And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. 9 iSo they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

10 And jthe fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Also some of the Philistines kbrought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

12 So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. 13 He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.

14 These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; 15 and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; 16 and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, lwho willingly offered himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. 17 Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield; 18 and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. 19 These served the king, besides mthose the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.