and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
- BSB So 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. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
- NKJV And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
- NASB 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 abandon Him, He will abandon you.
- NLT and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Azariah declares that the Lord is with His people while they are with Him, found by those who seek Him but forsaking those who forsake Him. This is the covenant principle that frames Asa's whole reign.
Overview
The prophet states the central Chronicles theme: God responds to His people according to their devotion. Seeking God brings His presence; forsaking Him brings His absence. While this expresses real covenant warning, the gospel reveals that God Himself secures our seeking and never forsakes those who are in Christ, who Himself was forsaken in our place.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 32
- Jas 4:8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- 2 Chr 24:20The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you disobey Yahweh’s commandments, so that you can’t prosper? Because you have forsaken Yahweh, he has also forsaken you.’”
- 2 Chr 15:4But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.
- 1 Chr 28:9You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- Jer 29:12–14You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
- Heb 10:38But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
- Isa 55:6–7Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near.
- 2 Chr 15:15All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them. Then Yahweh gave them rest all around.
- Heb 12:25See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,
- Matt 7:7–8“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
- 2 Chr 20:20They rose early in the morning, and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, so you will be established! Believe his prophets, so you will prosper.”
- 2 Chr 13:12Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don’t fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you will not prosper.”
- Rom 11:1–2I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
- 2 Chr 20:15and he said, “Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Yahweh says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
- Deut 20:1When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
- 2 Chr 32:8An arm of flesh is with him, but Yahweh our God is with us to help us and to fight our battles.” The people rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
- Matt 13:9He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- 2 Kgs 21:14I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. They will become a prey and a plunder to all their enemies,
- 2 Chr 13:4Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:
- Isa 7:13He said, “Listen now, house of David. Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also?
- 2 Chr 20:17You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for Yahweh is with you.’”
- Rev 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.
- Rev 2:11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.
- Judg 9:7When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, cried out, and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
- Rev 3:6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- 2 Chr 12:1–3When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned Yahweh’s law, and all Israel with him.
- Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
- Rev 2:29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- Rev 3:13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
- Rev 3:22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”
- 2 Chr 33:12When he was in distress, he begged Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
- Ps 49:1–2For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
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Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 15:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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