Asa Hyehyɛ Nyamesom Foforo
1Na Onyankopɔn honhom baa Oded babarima Asaria so, 2na opue kohyiaa ɔhene Asa a ofi akono reba no. Ɔteɛɛ mu guu Asa so se, “Tie me, Asa, Yudamanfo nyinaa ne Benyamin muntie. Mmere dodow a mo ne Awurade te no, ɔno nso ne mo bɛtena. Bere biara a mobɛhwehwɛ no no, mubehu no. Nanso sɛ mugyaw no a, ɔno nso begyaw mo. 3Teteete no, na Israel nni nokware Nyankopɔn no, na wonni ɔsɔfo a ɔbɛkyerɛkyerɛ wɔn, na wonni Onyankopɔn mmara nso. 4Nanso bere biara a mobɛkɔ ahohia mu na mobɛkɔ Awurade Israel Nyankopɔn nkyɛn, na moahwehwɛ no no, muhuu no. 5Saa esum bere no mu, na akwantu yɛ hu. Na ɔhaw wɔ ɔman no afanan nyinaa. 6Akodi baa ɔman ne ɔman ntam, kuropɔn ne kuropɔn ntam, efisɛ Awurade maa ɔhaw ahorow bebree baa mo so. 7Na afei, mo Yuda mmarima, mo ho nyɛ den, munnya akokoduru, na mubenya mo adwumayɛ so akatua.”
8Bere a Asa tee saa asɛm yi fii odiyifo Asaria nkyɛn no, onyaa akokoduru, yiyii ahoni a ɛwɔ Yuda asase so ne Benyamin nyinaa ne nkurow a wako afa a ɛwowɔ Efraim bepɔw nsase so no so. Osiesiee Awurade afɔremuka a na esi Awurade Asɔredan ntwironoo anim no.
9Afei, Asa frɛfrɛɛ nnipa a wɔwɔ Yuda ne Benyamin nyinaa. Ɔfrɛɛ nnipa a wofi Efraim, Manase ne Simeon a wɔabɛtena wɔn mu no nso. Bebree tutu kɔtenaa Yuda wɔ Ɔhene Asa bere so, efisɛ wohuu sɛ Awurade, ne Nyankopɔn, ka ne ho.
10Ɛrekɔ ɔsram a ɛto so abiɛsa awiei no mu a na Asa adi ade mfe dunum no, nnipa no boaa wɔn ho ano wɔ Yerusalem. 11Saa da no, wɔde mmoa a wɔkyekyeree wɔn ɔko mu no bi bɔɔ Awurade afɔre. Na mmoa no dodow yɛ anantwi ahanson a nguan ne mmirekyi nso dodow yɛ mpem ason. 12Afei, wofi wɔn koma ne wɔn kra nyinaa mu yɛɛ apam sɛ wɔbɛhwehwɛ Awurade, wɔn agyanom Nyankopɔn. 13Wɔpenee so se, obiara a ɔbɛpo Awurade, wɔn agyanom Nyankopɔn no, wobekum no, sɛ onnyinii anaa wanyin, sɛ ɔyɛ ɔbarima anaa ɔbea. 14Wɔhyɛn ntorobɛnto ne mmɛn denneennen, de dii Awurade nokwaredi ntam no ho adanse. 15Wɔn nyinaa ani gyee saa apam yi ho, efisɛ wofi wɔn koma nyinaa mu na ɛyɛe. Wɔpere hwehwɛɛ Onyankopɔn, na wohuu no. Na Awurade maa wɔn ahomegye fii wɔn atamfo a wɔwɔ afanan nyinaa nsam.
16Mpo ɔhene Asa tuu ne nena baa Maaka fii ahemmeagua no so, efisɛ osii Asera nnua a ɛyɛ atantanne. Otwaa dua no, bubuu mu, hyew no wɔ Kidron bon mu. 17Ɛwɔ mu sɛ wɔantutu abosonsom nsɔre so no nyinaa amfi Israel de, nanso Asa de ne ho nyinaa maa Awurade ne nkwanna nyinaa. 18Ɔde dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ ne nneɛma ahorow a ɔne nʼagya de maa Awurade no baa Onyankopɔn Asɔredan no mu.
19Enti ɔko ansi bio kosii Asa adedi afe a ɛto so aduasa anum no so.
Asa Makes Judah a Better Nation
1The Spirit of God came on Azariah. He was the son of Oded. 2Azariah went out to meet Asa. He said to him, “Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you really look for him, you will find him. But if you desert him, he will desert you. 3For a long time Israel didn’t worship the true God. They didn’t have a priest who taught them. So they didn’t know God’s law. 4But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. When they did, they found him. 5In those days it wasn’t safe to travel around. The people who lived in all the areas of the land were having a lot of trouble. 6One nation was crushing another. One city was crushing another. That’s because God was causing them to suffer terribly. 7But be strong. Don’t give up. God will reward you for your work.”
8Asa heard that prophecy. He paid attention to the words of Azariah the prophet, the son of Oded. So Asa became bolder than ever. He removed the statues of gods from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed them from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He did it because the Lord hated those gods. Asa repaired the altar of the Lord. It was in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.
9Then Asa gathered together all the people of Judah and Benjamin. He also gathered together the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who were living among them. Large numbers of people had come over to him from Israel. They came because they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10They gathered in Jerusalem. It was the third month of the 15th year of Asa’s rule. 11At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep and goats. The animals were among the things they had taken after the battle. 12They made a covenant to obey the Lord, the God of their people. They would obey him with all their heart and soul. 13All those who wouldn’t obey the Lord, the God of Israel, would be killed. It wouldn’t matter how important they were. It wouldn’t matter whether they were men or women. 14They made a promise to the Lord. They praised him out loud. They shouted. They blew trumpets and horns. 15All the people of Judah were happy about the promise they had made. They turned to God with all their heart. When they did, they found him. So the Lord gave them peace and rest on every side.
16King Asa also removed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother. That’s because she had made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. The Lord hated it. So Asa cut it down. He broke it up. He burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17Asa didn’t remove the high places from Israel. But he committed his whole life completely to the Lord. 18He and his father had set apart silver, gold and other things to the Lord. Asa brought them into God’s temple.
19There weren’t any more wars until the 35th year of Asa’s rule.
