1 And the Spirit {ruach: divine breath} of God {Elohim, Divine Inspirer} was upon Azariah son of Oded.
2 And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD {YHWH, Covenant Protector} is with you when you are with Him. If you seek {tidreshuhu: diligently pursue} Him, He will be found for you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”
3 And for many days Israel was without the true God {Elohei Emet, Upholder of Truth}, and without a priest who teaches {moreh: Instructor}, and without law.
4 But in their distress {tsar: intense pressure} they turned to the LORD {YHWH, Rescuer In Crisis}, the God of Israel {Elohei Yisrael, National Protector}, and they sought {baqash: earnest pursuit} Him, and He was found by them.
5 And in those times there was no peace for those who went out {layotze: outgoing travelers} or those who came in, because many disturbances were upon all the inhabitants of the lands {ha’aratzot: lands, territories}.
6 And they were broken in pieces. A nation was crushed by a nation and a city by a city, because God {Elohim, Disciplinary Judge} troubled them with all distress {tsarah: calamity}.
7 But you, be strong, and do not let your hands slacken {yirpu: lose grip}, for there is a reward {sakhar: due wages} for your work.
8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he strengthened himself and removed the abominations from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured from the hill-country of Ephraim. And he renewed the altar of the LORD {YHWH, Worship Restorer} which was before the porch {ulam: entrance hall} of the LORD.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they had fallen upon him in great number from Israel when they saw that the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Sustainer} his God {Elohim, Covenant Protector} was with him.
10 And they assembled in Jerusalem in the third month {chodesh: lunar month}, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa {Asa: king of Judah}.
11 And they sacrificed to the LORD {YHWH, Worship Receiver} on that day from the plunder they brought seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep {ts’on: flock animals}.
12 And they entered into the covenant {brit: binding agreement} to seek the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Keeper} God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.
13 And everyone who does not seek the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Enforcer}, the God of Israel {Elohei-Yisrael: National Redeemer}, shall be put to death from the small even to the great, from man even to woman.
14 And they swore to the LORD {YHWH, Sole Covenant Recipient} with a great voice {kol: full assembly sound}, with shouting, with trumpets, and with shofars.
15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him with all their desire, and He was found by them. Then the LORD {YHWH, Rest Giver} gave them rest from all around {misaviv: on every side}.
16 Moreover, King Asa removed Maakah, his mother, from her role as queen mother {gevirah: palace matriarch}, because she had made a horrifying image {miplatset: dread object} for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the Wadi Kidron.
17 But the high places {bamot: Unauthorized Shrines} were not removed from Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was whole {shalem: Total Integrity} all his days.
18 And he brought into the house of God {haElohim, Worship Center} the holy things of his father and his own holy things—silver, gold, and vessels {kelim: sacred utensils}.
19 And war {milchamah: national fighting} did not occur until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign {malkhut: royal rule}.