1And Azariah son of Oded—the spirit of God was upon him.2He came out before Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, and if you forsake him, he will forsake you."3For many days Israel was without the God of truth, without a priest teaching, and without instruction.4When they were in distress they returned to the LORD God of Israel; they sought him and he was found by them.5In those times there was no peace for anyone going out or coming in, because many tumults were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.6Nation crushed nation and city crushed city, for God confused them with every distress.7But you, be strong and do not let your hands grow slack, for there is a reward for your work.8When 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 in the hill country of Ephraim; he also renewed the altar of the LORD that stood before the Hall of the LORD.9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those who sojourned with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for large numbers from Israel had joined him when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.10They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.11On that day they sacrificed to the LORD from the spoil they had brought: seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats.12They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul.13Whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.14They swore an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with horns.15All Judah rejoiced at the oath, because they had sworn with all their heart and sought him with all their will; he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest on every side.16Asa also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from her position as queen mother because she had made a horrid image for Asherah; Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.17The high places were not removed from Israel, yet the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.18He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things—silver, gold, and vessels.19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.