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.
1På et tidspunkt kom Guds Ånd over Azarja, søn af Oded, 2og han gik kong Asa i møde med ordene:
„Lyt til mig, kong Asa og Judas og Benjamins folk! Herren vil være med jer, så længe I holder jer til ham! Når I søger ham, skal I finde ham. Men hvis I vender jer fra ham, vil han vende sig fra jer. 3I lang tid levede man i Israel uden at skænke den sande Gud en tanke. Der var ikke præster til at undervise folket, og Guds lov blev ikke fulgt. 4Men hver gang israelitterne kom i vanskeligheder, søgte de hjælp hos Herren, deres Gud, og han hjalp dem. 5I lange perioder kunne man ikke færdes frit, og der var ufred og oprør rundt omkring i alle landene. 6Det ene folkeslag lå i krig med det andet, og den ene by bekæmpede den anden, alt sammen som følge af Guds straf over dem. 7Men tab ikke modet! Giv ikke op på halvvejen, for I vil blive belønnet for jeres indsats.”
8Opmuntret over Azarjas profeti gik kong Asa i gang med at udrydde alle afgudsbilleder i Juda og Benjamin og de øvrige byer, han havde erobret i Efraims bjergland. Desuden genopbyggede han brændofferalteret foran templet.
9Derefter sendte han bud efter lederne for hele Judas og Benjamins folk og for de israelitiske immigranter, der var ankommet fra Efraims, Manasses og Simeons områder i Nordriget. De var flyttet til Sydriget, da de så, at Herren var med kong Asa. 10I årets tredje måned i kong Asas 15. regeringsår mødte de op i Jerusalem. 11De ofrede 700 stykker hornkvæg og 7000 stykker småkvæg af det krigsbytte, de havde taget i krigen mod kushitterne. 12De indgik en pagt, hvori de lovede at søge og tilbede Herren, deres fædres Gud, af hele deres hjerte og hele deres sjæl. 13Enhver, som nægtede at tilbede Herren, skulle dømmes til døden—uanset om vedkommende var gammel eller ung, mand eller kvinde. 14Med høje råb bekræftede de deres troskabsløfte til Herren, og det blev understreget med blæsning i trompeter og vædderhorn. 15Alle var glade over den pagt, de havde sluttet med Herren, for de havde gjort det af et oprigtigt hjerte og med fuldt overlæg. Derfor velsignede Herren dem og gav dem fred til alle sider.
16Kong Asa fratog tilmed sin bedstemor Ma’aka hendes privilegier som enkedronning, fordi hun havde ladet opstille et modbydeligt frugtbarhedssymbol for gudinden Ashera. Han huggede afgudsbilledet i stykker og brændte det i Kedrondalen. 17Det lykkedes ham ikke at udrydde alle offerhøjene i Israels land, men ønsket om at gøre Herrens vilje kendetegnede hele hans liv. 18I templet samlede han alle de kostbarheder, som hans far havde indviet til Herren, sammen med de sølv- og guldkar, han selv skænkede.
19Landet kom ikke i regulær krig igen, før kong Asa havde regeret i 35 år.
