And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah 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.
Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law:
but when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity.
But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
And when Asa heard these words, {Or, even}and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Jehovah, that was before the porch of Jehovah.
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
And they sacrificed unto Jehovah in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
And they entered into the covenant to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;
and that whosoever would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
And they sware unto Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and Jehovah gave them rest round about.
And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being {Or, queen mother}queen, because she had made an abominable image {Or, for Asherah}for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
Querverweise zu 2. Chronika 15,7 2Chr 15,7
Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest {Or, deal wisely}have good success whithersoever thou goest.
After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, {Or, thy reward shall be exceeding great}and thy exceeding great reward.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed; for Jehovah God, even my God, is with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until all the work for the service of the house of Jehovah be finished.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned:In keeping them there is great reward.
Wait for Jehovah:Be strong, and let thy heart take courage;Yea, wait thou for Jehovah.
So that men shall say, Verily there is {Hebrew: fruit.}a reward for the righteous:Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the {Or, tottering}feeble knees.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
Say to them that are of a {Hebrew: hasty.}fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: {Or, behold, your God! vengeance will come, even the recompense of God}behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.
For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the {That is, collectors or renters of Roman taxes. }publicans the same?
And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he spake unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
{Or, Henceforth}Finally, {Greek: be made powerful.}be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward: and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward.
But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, {Some ancient authorities read despairing of no man.}never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
If any man's work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward.
For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward: but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship intrusted to me.
What then is my reward? That, when I {See marginal note on chapter 1:17.}preach the gospel, I may make the {See marginal note on chapter 4:15.}gospel without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the {See marginal note on chapter 4:15.}gospel.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not {Or, void}vain in the Lord.
knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ.
for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister.
Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward.
Look to yourselves, that ye {Or, destroy}lose not the things which {Many ancient authorities read ye.}we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward.