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.
亞撒的改革
1上帝的靈降在俄德的兒子亞撒利雅身上， 2他便出來迎接亞撒，對他說：「亞撒啊，所有的猶大人和便雅憫人啊，請聽我說！你們若順從耶和華，祂必與你們同在。你們若尋求祂，祂必讓你們尋見。你們若背棄祂，祂必離棄你們。 3以色列人已經許久沒有真神，沒有祭司教導，也沒有律法。 4然而，他們在患難時歸向以色列的上帝耶和華，尋求祂，祂就讓他們尋見。 5那時，人們出入不得平安，因為各地都有動亂。 6邦國與邦國、城邑與城邑互相攻擊破壞，因為上帝用各樣的災難擾亂他們。 7但你們要剛強，不要雙手發軟，因為你們必因所行的而得獎賞。」
8亞撒聽了俄德的兒子亞撒利雅先知的預言，就鼓起勇氣在猶大和便雅憫全境以及他在以法蓮山區奪取的各城邑剷除可憎的神像，並在耶和華殿的走廊前重修耶和華的祭壇。
9當時，有許多以法蓮人、瑪拿西人和西緬人看見亞撒的上帝耶和華與他同在，就從以色列來投奔他，寄居在猶大。亞撒把他們和所有的猶大人與便雅憫人都招聚在一起。 10亞撒執政第十五年三月，他們聚集在耶路撒冷。 11當天，他們從擄物中取出七百頭牛和七千隻羊獻給耶和華。 12他們又與他們祖先的上帝耶和華立約，要全心全意地尋求祂。 13凡不尋求以色列的上帝耶和華的，無論男女老幼，一律處死。 14他們高聲向耶和華起誓，並吹響號角。 15猶大人都為所起的誓而歡喜快樂，因他們誠心起誓、誠意尋求耶和華，耶和華就讓他們尋見，並賜他們四境平安。
16亞撒王廢除了他祖母瑪迦的太后之位，因為她造了可憎的亞舍拉神像。亞撒將她的神像砍倒、打碎，燒毀在汲淪溪旁。 17儘管他還沒有把邱壇從以色列除去，但他一生對耶和華忠心。 18他將他父親和自己奉獻給上帝的金銀及器皿都帶到上帝的殿裡。
19從那時直到亞撒執政第三十五年，國中都沒有戰爭。
