2Chronicles:15-16

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* And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded : * And 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 . * Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God , and without a teaching priest , and without law . * But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel , and sought him , he was found of them . * And 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 . * And nation was destroyed of nation , and city of city : for God did vex them with all adversity . * Be ye strong therefore , and let not your hands be weak : for your work shall be rewarded . * And 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 . * And 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 . * So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month , in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa . * And they offered unto the LORD the same time , of the spoil which they had brought , seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep . * And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul ; * That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death , whether small or great , whether man or woman . * And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice , and with shouting , and with trumpets , and with cornets . * And 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 . * 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 . * But the high places were not taken away out of Israel : nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days . * 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 . * And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa . * In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah , and built Ramah , to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah . * Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king 's house , and sent to Benhadad king of Syria , that dwelt at Damascus , saying , * There is a league between me and thee , as there was between my father and thy father : behold , I have sent thee silver and gold ; go , break thy league with Baasha king of Israel , that he may depart from me . * And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa , and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel ; and they smote Ijon , and Dan , and Abelmaim , and all the store cities of Naphtali . * And it came to pass , when Baasha heard it , that he left off building of Ramah , and let his work cease . * Then Asa the king took all Judah ; and they carried away the stones of Ramah , and the timber thereof , wherewith Baasha was building ; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah . * And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah , and said unto him , Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria , and not relied on the LORD thy God , therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand . * Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host , with very many chariots and horsemen ? yet , because thou didst rely on the LORD , he delivered them into thine hand . * For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth , to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him . Herein thou hast done foolishly : therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars . * Then Asa was wroth with the seer , and put him in a prison house ; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing . And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time . * And , behold , the acts of Asa , first and last , lo , they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel . * And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet , until his disease was exceeding great : yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD , but to the physicians . * And Asa slept with his fathers , and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign . * And they buried him in his own sepulchres , which he had made for himself in the city of David , and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries ' art : and they made a very great burning for him . * And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead , and strengthened himself against Israel .

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