2 he confronted Asa: "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin," he said. "The Lord is with you as long as you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Instruction.
4 But in their time of trouble they turned to the Lord, Israel’s God. They sought him and found him!
5 At that time, it wasn’t safe to travel because great turmoil affected all the inhabitants of the area.
6 Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, as God troubled them with every kind of problem.
7 But as for you, be brave and don’t lose heart, because your work will be rewarded!"
8 As soon as Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah, Oded’s son, he felt brave and removed the detestable idols from all of Judah and Benjamin, as well as from the cities he had captured in Ephraim’s highlands, and he repaired the Lord’s altar that stood before the Lord’s entrance hall.