1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.15.2 to meet…: Heb. before Asa 3Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.15.6 destroyed: Heb. beaten in pieces 7Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.15.8 abominable…: Heb. abominations 9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.15.11 the same…: Heb. in that day 12And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
16¶ And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.15.16 mother: that is, grandmother15.16 idol: Heb. horror 17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18¶ And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
亚撒的改革
1上帝的灵降在俄德的儿子亚撒利雅身上， 2他便出来迎接亚撒，对他说：“亚撒啊，所有的犹大人和便雅悯人啊，请听我说！你们若顺从耶和华，祂必与你们同在。你们若寻求祂，祂必让你们寻见。你们若背弃祂，祂必离弃你们。 3以色列人已经许久没有真神，没有祭司教导，也没有律法。 4然而，他们在患难时归向以色列的上帝耶和华，寻求祂，祂就让他们寻见。 5那时，人们出入不得平安，因为各地都有动乱。 6邦国与邦国、城邑与城邑互相攻击破坏，因为上帝用各样的灾难扰乱他们。 7但你们要刚强，不要双手发软，因为你们必因所行的而得奖赏。”
8亚撒听了俄德的儿子亚撒利雅先知的预言，就鼓起勇气在犹大和便雅悯全境以及他在以法莲山区夺取的各城邑铲除可憎的神像，并在耶和华殿的走廊前重修耶和华的祭坛。
9当时，有许多以法莲人、玛拿西人和西缅人看见亚撒的上帝耶和华与他同在，就从以色列来投奔他，寄居在犹大。亚撒把他们和所有的犹大人与便雅悯人都招聚在一起。 10亚撒执政第十五年三月，他们聚集在耶路撒冷。 11当天，他们从掳物中取出七百头牛和七千只羊献给耶和华。 12他们又与他们祖先的上帝耶和华立约，要全心全意地寻求祂。 13凡不寻求以色列的上帝耶和华的，无论男女老幼，一律处死。 14他们高声向耶和华起誓，并吹响号角。 15犹大人都为所起的誓而欢喜快乐，因他们诚心起誓、诚意寻求耶和华，耶和华就让他们寻见，并赐他们四境平安。
16亚撒王废除了他祖母玛迦的太后之位，因为她造了可憎的亚舍拉神像。亚撒将她的神像砍倒、打碎，烧毁在汲沦溪旁。 17尽管他还没有把丘坛从以色列除去，但他一生对耶和华忠心。 18他将他父亲和自己奉献给上帝的金银及器皿都带到上帝的殿里。
19从那时直到亚撒执政第三十五年，国中都没有战争。
