14. In a loud voice they took an oath in the Lord's name that they would keep the covenant, and then they shouted and blew trumpets.
15. All the people of Judah were happy because they had made this covenant with all their heart. They took delight in worshipping the Lord, and he accepted them and gave them peace on every side.
16. King Asa removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol, chopped it up, and burnt the pieces in the valley of the Kidron.