2 Chronicles 15

1 Now the Spirit [breath of life, divine influence] of God [the one supreme Being] came upon [on, or above] Azariah [son of a helper, assisted by God] son [descendant, offspring] of Oded [restitutor, one who restores]. word study 2 So he went out [to come face to face] to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me [hear and obey], Asa and all Judah [the tribe descended from Judah] and Benjamin [son of the right hand]. The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] is with you [in close relationship, together] when you are with Him [in harmony, united]. If you seek [search for, inquire of] Him, He will be found by you [discovered, attained], but if you forsake [abandon, loosen] Him, He will forsake [abandon, relinquish] you. word study 3 For many [numerous, a long season] years Israel has been without [lacking, separated from] the true [faithful, trustworthy] God [Elohim, the supreme deity], without [lacking, absent] a priest [teaching priest, spiritual leader] to instruct [teach, guide] them, and without [lacking, absent] the law [instruction, divine guidance]. word study 4 But in their distress [trouble, affliction] they turned [returned, came back] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the God [Elohim, the supreme God] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob], and sought [searched for, looked for] Him, and He was found [discovered, attained] by them. word study 5 In those days [times of turmoil, periods of strife] there was no safety [peace, security] for travelers [those going out or coming in], because the residents [inhabitants, dwellers] of the lands [countries, territories] had many [great, numerous] conflicts [vexations, troubles]. word study 6 Nation [was destroyed, fought against] was crushed by nation [Gentile, large group], and city [town, settlement] by city, for God [Elohim, the supreme Ruler] afflicted them with all kinds [every sort, various types] of adversity [trouble, distress, dearth]. word study 7 But as for you [be strong in the Lord], be strong [and courageous]; do not be discouraged [or weak], for your work [labor, service to God] will be rewarded [with wages, a divine recompense].” word study 8 When Asa [the king of Judah, son of Abijam] heard these words [of prophecy, divine message] and the prophecy [spoken by God, revelation] of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage [strengthened himself, became bold] and removed the detestable idols [abominable images, filthy statues] from the whole land [entire territory, all regions] of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities [towns, villages] he had captured [taken, seized] in the hill country [mountains, highlands] of Ephraim. He then restored [renewed, repaired] the altar [place of sacrifice, sacred table] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] that was in front of [before, facing] the portico [covered entrance, vestibule] of the LORD’s [Yehovah’s, God’s] temple. word study 9 And he assembled [gathered together, summoned] all Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, son of Jacob] and Benjamin [son of the right hand, referring to the youngest son of Jacob], along with those from the tribes of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, referring to Joseph’s son], Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob and the ancestor of a large tribe], and Simeon [the second son of Jacob and the progenitor of the tribe of Simeon] who had settled [sojourned, lived as foreigners] among them, for great numbers [an abundance, a multitude] had come over to him from Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] when they saw [perceived, understood] that the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] his God [Elohim, the supreme God, the one true God] was with him [in his presence, accompanying him]. word study 10 So they gathered [assembled, came together] together in Jerusalem [the city of peace] in the third month of the fifteenth [fifteen, a combination of ten and five] year of Asa’s [the king of Judah] reign [royal power, kingdom rule]. word study 11 At that time [in the same day, during that period] they sacrificed [offered, slew] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] seven hundred [a multitude of] oxen [cattle, domesticated animals] and seven thousand [a large number of] sheep [a flock, including goats] from all the plunder [spoils of war, booty] they had brought back [returned with, captured]. word study 12 Then they entered [came into a mutual agreement, made a solemn promise] into a covenant [a binding promise, a sacred agreement] to seek [to inquire, to worship, to ask for] the LORD [Yehovah, the God of Israel], the God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] of their fathers [ancestors, forefathers], with all [completely, entirely] their heart [the innermost part of a person, including mind, will, and emotions] and soul [the essence of a person, the living being]. word study 13 And whoever [any person, regardless of status] would not seek [diligently search for, inquire of] the LORD [Yehovah], the God [Elohim, the supreme deity] of Israel, would be put to death [executed, slain], whether [regardless of being] young or old [small or great], man [male person] or woman [female person]. word study 14 They took [made, swore] an oath [a vow, promise] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] with a loud [great, powerful] voice, with shouting [a loud cry, joyful sound], trumpets [signaling important events], and rams’ horns [cornets, made from a ram’s horn]. word study 15 And all [the whole, entire] Judah rejoiced [was glad, happy] over the oath [promise, vow], for they had sworn [pledged, vowed] it with all [their entire, whole] their heart [innermost being, mind]. They had sought [searched for, looked for] Him [God, the Lord] earnestly [with their whole desire, sincerely], and He was found [discovered, located] by them. So the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] gave them rest [peace, tranquility] on every side [around, surrounding them]. word study 16 King Asa also [even, too] removed his grandmother Maacah [mother of the king, queen mother] from her position as queen [lady, woman of noble rank] mother because she had made a detestable [horrible, abominable] Asherah pole [idol, image for worship]. Asa chopped down the pole [cut it down, destroyed it], crushed it [pulverized, stamped it], and burned it [set it on fire, kindled flames] in the Kidron Valley [brook Kidron, dark valley]. word study 17 The high places [cultic platforms, shrines] were not removed [taken away, turned aside] from Israel [Jacob’s descendants], but Asa’s [the king of Judah] heart [innermost being, mind, and will] was fully devoted [perfect, complete, whole] all his days [lifetime, years of life]. word study 18 And he brought into the house [place, dwelling] of God [Elohim, the supreme deity] the silver [money, payment] and gold [valuable metal] articles [utensils, vessels] that he and his father [ancestor, patriarch] had dedicated [consecrated, set apart as holy]. word study 19 And there was [no longer, not any] no war [battle, conflict] until the thirty-fifth year [a period of time, a cycle] of Asa’s [the king of Judah, son of Abijam] reign [royal power, kingdom]. word study