THE SECOND BOOK OF THE
CHRONICLES

2 Chronicles 15

1The prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded. 8Asa hearing it putteth away idolatry, and assembleth the whole body of his people at Jerusalem; they enter into covenant with God. 16He removeth Maachah his mother from being queen on account of her idolatry. 18He bringeth into the house of God the things which had been dedicated, and enjoyeth a long peace.


1AND1 the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of 2Oded:

1 In the Hebrew the words run thus: And Azariah, the son of Oded, the Spirit of God was upon him.

2 A prophet, called previously, called previously, according to the common opinion, Iddo, 2 Chron. 9:29, 2 Chron. 12:15, and he is to be distinguished from another prophet called Oded, who lived in the time of king Hezekiah, 2 Chron. 28:9.

2And he went 3out to meet 4Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD 5is with you, while ye be 6with him; and ifa ye 7seek him, he will be found 8of you; butb if ye 9forsake him, he 10will forsake you.

3 Namely, out of Jerusalem.

4 Hebr. before the face of Asa; that is, toward Asa, or to meet Asa. Also 1 Chron. 12:17; 2 Chron. 28:9. He went to meet the king, when he returned to Jerusalem from the defeat of the Moors.

5 That is, He helpeth you, and giveth you victory against your enemies. See 2 Chron. 14:12, 13, 14, and compare Deut. 20:1; Joshua 1:5; Psalm 118:6; Jer. 20:11, etc. This may be also translated in the future tense: The Lord shall be with you, etc. Or in the present perfect tense: The Lord hath been with you.

6 That is, while ye stand for His pure worship, and destroy idolatry.

a 1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 33:12; Mat. 7:7.

7 See 2 Chron. 11 on verse 16.

8 Hebr. be found unto you or for you. Also verses 4 and 15. That is, actually assist you with His grace, help and comfort. Thus Deut. 4:29; Prov. 8:17; Isa. 55:6; Jer. 29:13, 14.

b 2 Chron. 24:20.

9 See 2 Chron. 12 on verse 1.

10 That is, actually withdraw His grace, help and comfort from you. Thus 2 Chron. 24:20; Psalm 71:9, 11.

311Nowc for a long season Israel hath been without the 12true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

11 Some take this to mean of the twelve tribes in general, in the time of the judges, etc. Others apply it to the ten tribes, and their state and condition, from the time that they revolted from the house of David. See 1 Kings 12:28, 29, 30, etc.

c Hosea 3:4.

12 Hebr. the God of truth, that is, without the public, pure worship of God.

4Butd when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

d Deut. 4:29.

5And in those times there 13was no peace to him 14that went out, nor to him that came in, but great 15vexations were upon all the inhabitants 16of the countries.

13 That is, it went not well in Israel.

14 Understand those who, dwelling in Israel, were to go from one place to another, and those who came in from other places abroad, to reside and trade there awhile.

15 See the book of Judges, and further 1 Kings 14:10, 11; 15:27, 29, and chapter 16.

16 Namely, who were under Israel.

617And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex 18them with all adversity.

17 That is, that they were oppressed by different enemies in the time of the judges, and crushed, broke in pieces and destroyed one another by internal discords after they were separated from Judah. Others take the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th verse to be as a prophecy of future times; compare it with Hosea 3:4, 5, etc.

18 Namely, the Israelites, See 1 Kings 16:21.

719Be ye strong therefore, and let not 20your hands be weak: for your work shall be 21rewarded.

19 That is, go on courageously in reforming and restoring the true and pure worship of God, taking warning by the aforementioned examples.

20 See the explanation of the phrase 2 Sam. 4 on verse 1.

21 Namely, not in regard of the worth or desert of the work which they owed unto God, but in regard of the grace, mercy and favor of God, Who has promised to reward the good works of those who belong unto Him for Christ’s sake.

8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of 22Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the 23abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the 24cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the 25altar of the LORD, that was before the 26porch of the LORD.

22 This prophecy is attributed to Azariah the son of Oded in verse 1; this prophet therefore must have either had two names, or else this prophecy was not only his, but also of his father, who, as some perceive, lived at the same time.

23 That is, the abominations of the images, which were left yet somewhere, either in public or private places and houses. See of some of these abominations 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13.

24 See 2 Chron. 13:19.

25 Together with the court of the priests, as is perceived, wherein stood the altar; which court is therefore called the new court, 2 Chron. 20:5.

26 See 1 Kings 6 on verse 3. Likewise 2 Chron. 3:4; 29:7.

9And he gathered 27all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they 28fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

27 That is, all those who belonged to these two tribes.

28 Namely, from the kings of Israel, with whom, through hatred of their idolatry, they would have no fellowship.

10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the 29third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

29 Called Sivan, Esther 8:9, almost agrees with our May. The feast of Pentecost fell in this month; of which see the command of God Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Deut. 16:9.

11And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had 30brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

30 Namely, from the battle against the Moors. See 2 Chron. 14:13, 14, 15.

12And 31they enterede into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers 32with all their heart and with all their soul;

31 The phrase seems to point at the use, formerly practiced, in the making of covenants. There were certain beasts slain, and these were afterwards cut in pieces, through which the confederates walked in the middle, etc. See hereof further Gen. 15 on verse 17.

e Joshua 24:15; Neh. 10:29.

32 See 1 Kings 2 on verse 4.

13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel shouldf be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

f Deut. 13:9.

14And they sware unto the LORD with a 33loud voice, and with 34shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

33 Hebr. greater.

34 That is, sound of joy. Also 1 Sam. 4:6; 2 Sam. 6:15; Ezra 3:11.

15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn 35with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and 36he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

35 See 1 Kings 2 on verse 4.

36 See on verse 2.

16¶And also concerning Maachah the 37mother of Asa the king, 38he removed her from being queen,g because she had made an 39idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook 40Kidron.

37 Understand his grandmother, the mother of his father Abijam, Rehoboam’s widow, 1 Kings 15:2 and 2 Chron. 13:2, where she is called Michaiah.

38 Namely, Asa.

g 1 Kings 15:13.

39 Hebr. meflezeth, that is, a terror. See of this idol 1 Kings 15 on verse 13.

40 See 1 Kings 2 on verse 37.

1741But the high places were not taken away out of 42Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was 43perfect all his days.

41 The high places were for the most indeed taken away out of Judah, 2 Chron. 14:5, but not out of Israel, that is, out of the land of Israel which was under king Asa.

42 Understand the country sides, cities, and people, which were under Judah of the kingdom of Israel; of which see 2 Chron. 13:19, and here verses 8, 9, and compare 2 Chron. 17:2; 19:4; 21:2, 4.

43 How this perfection is to be understood, see 1 Kings 15 on verse 14.

18¶And he brought into the house of God 44the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

44 See Lev. 5 on verse 15.

19And there was 45no more war unto the five and thirtieth year 46of the reign of Asa.

45 Namely, between Asa and the kingdom of Israel.

46 That is, of the kingdom of Judah, as it was divided from the kingdom of Israel, whereof Asa was now king; for, here are not expressed the years that Asa reigned, but the years that the kingdom of Judah lasted after the ten tribes were revolted from it. The years are thus counted: Rehoboam reigned seventeen years, 2 Chron. 12:13; his son Abijah three years, 2 Chron. 13:2; hereunto added fifteen years of Asa’s reign, verse 10, they make together thirty-five years.