1. Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,
2. and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
3. For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law.
4. But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.
5. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
6. Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.
7. But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work."
8. Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord.
9. He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.