3Now for a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without the law;
4But when in their trouble they were turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, searching after him, he let their search be rewarded.
5In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, but great trouble was on all the people of the lands.
6And they were broken by divisions, nation against nation and town against town, because God sent all sorts of trouble on them.
7But be you strong and let not your hands be feeble, for your work will be rewarded.
8And Asa, hearing these words of Azariah, the son of Oded the prophet, took heart and put away all the disgusting things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the towns which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he made new again the altar of the Lord in front of the covered way of the Lord's house.
9And he got together all Judah and Benjamin and those of Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon who were living with them; for numbers of them came to him out of Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
