1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded;
2. and he went out to meet Asa and said unto him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3. For many days Israel has been without the true God, and without a priest and without a teacher and without law,
4. but when they in their trouble turned unto the Lord God of Israel and sought him, he was found of them.
5. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great destruction upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
6. And one Gentile destroyed the other, and one city the other; for God discomforted them with all adversity.
7. Be ye strong, therefore, and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.