and he wentout to meetAsaand saidto him, "Listento me, Asa,and allJudahand Benjamin:the LORDis with you when you are with Him. And ifyou seekHim, He will let you findHim; but ifyou forsakeHim, He will forsakeyou.
Drawnearto Godand He will draw nearto you. Cleanseyour hands,you sinners;and purifyyour hearts,you double-minded.
Then the Spiritof Godcameon Zechariahthe sonof Jehoiadathe priest;and he stoodabovethe peopleand saidto them, "ThusGodhas said,Whydo you transgressthe commandmentsof the LORDand do not prosper?Becauseyou have forsakenthe LORD,He has also forsakenyou.'"
"But in their distressthey turnedto the LORDGodof Israel,and they soughtHim, and He let them findHim.
"As for you, my sonSolomon,knowthe Godof your father,and serveHim with a wholeheartand a willingmind;for the LORDsearchesallhearts,and understandseveryintentof the thoughts.Ifyou seekHim, He will let you findHim; but ifyou forsakeHim, He will rejectyou forever.
BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONESHALL LIVEBY FAITH;AND IFHE SHRINKS BACK,MY SOULHASNOPLEASUREIN HIM.
AllJudahrejoicedconcerningthe oath,for they had swornwith their wholeheartand had soughtHim earnestly,and He let them findHim. So the LORDgavethem reston everyside.
Seeto it that you do not refuseHim who is speaking.For ifthosedid not escapewhen they refusedhim who warned[them] on earth,muchless[will] we [escape] who turn awayfrom Him who [warns] from heaven.
They roseearlyin the morningand wentout to the wildernessof Tekoa;and when they wentout, Jehoshaphatstoodand said,"Listento me, O Judahand inhabitantsof Jerusalem,putyour trustin the LORDyour Godand you will be established.Putyour trustin His prophetsand succeed."
"Now behold,Godis with us at [our] headand His priestswith the signaltrumpetsto soundthe alarmagainstyou. O sonsof Israel,do not fightagainstthe LORDGodof your fathers,for you will not succeed."
and he said,"Listen,allJudahand the inhabitantsof Jerusalemand KingJehoshaphat:thussaysthe LORDto you, 'Do not fearor be dismayedbecauseof thisgreatmultitude,for the battleis not yours but God's.
"Whenyou goout to battleagainstyour enemiesand seehorsesand chariots[and] peoplemorenumerousthanyou, do not be afraidof them; for the LORDyour God,whobroughtyou up from the landof Egypt,is with you.
"With him is [only] an armof flesh,but with us is the LORDour Godto helpus and to fightour battles."And the peoplereliedon the wordsof Hezekiahkingof Judah.
I will abandonthe remnantof My inheritanceand deliverthem into the handof their enemies,and they will becomeas plunderand spoilto alltheir enemies;
"He who hasears,let him hear."
Then Abijahstoodon MountZemaraim,whichis in the hillcountryof Ephraim,and said,"Listento me, Jeroboamand allIsrael:
He who hasan ear,let him hearwhatthe Spiritsaysto the churches.He who overcomeswill not be hurtby the seconddeath.'
He who hasan ear,let him hearwhatthe Spiritsaysto the churches.To him who overcomes,I will grantto eatof the treeof lifewhichis in the Paradiseof God.'
Then he said,"Listennow,O houseof David!Is it tooslighta thingfor you to trythe patienceof men,that you will trythe patienceof my Godas well?
You [need] not fightin this[battle]; stationyourselves, standand seethe salvationof the LORDon your behalf,O Judahand Jerusalem.'Do not fearor be dismayed;tomorrowgoout to facethem, for the LORDis with you."
He who hasan ear,let him hearwhatthe Spiritsaysto the churches.'"
He who hasan ear,let him hearwhatthe Spiritsaysto the churches.'
He who hasan ear,let him hearwhatthe Spiritsaysto the churches.To him who overcomes,to him I will give[some] of the hiddenmanna,and I will givehim a whitestone,and a newnamewrittenon the stonewhichno oneknowsbut he who receivesit.'
Now when they toldJotham,he wentand stoodon the topof MountGerizim,and liftedhis voiceand calledout. Thus he saidto them, "Listento me, O menof Shechem,that Godmay listento you.
When he was in distress,he entreatedthe LORDhis Godand humbledhimself greatlybeforethe Godof his fathers.
"Then My angerwill be kindledagainst them in that day,and I will forsakethem and hideMy facefrom them, and they will be consumed,and manyevilsand troubleswill comeupon them; so that they will sayin that day,Is it not becauseour Godis not amongus that theseevilshave comeupon us?'
And Phinehasthe sonof Eleazarthe priestsaidto the sonsof Reubenand to the sonsof Gadand to the sonsof Manasseh,"Todaywe knowthat the LORDis in our midst,becauseyou have not committedthisunfaithfulactagainst the LORD;nowyou have deliveredthe sonsof Israelfrom the handof the LORD."
He said,"I have not troubledIsrael,but you and your father'shouse[have], because you have forsakenthe commandmentsof the LORDand you have followedthe Baals.
Then Shemaiahthe prophetcameto Rehoboamand the princesof Judahwhohad gatheredat Jerusalembecauseof Shishak,and he saidto them, "Thussaysthe LORD,You have forsakenMe, so I alsohave forsakenyou to Shishak.'"
He continuedto seekGodin the daysof Zechariah,who had understandingthrough the visionof God;and as longas he soughtthe LORD,Godprosperedhim.
For in the eighthyearof his reignwhile he was stilla youth,he beganto seekthe Godof his fatherDavid;and in the twelfthyearhe beganto purgeJudahand Jerusalemof the highplaces,the Asherim,the carvedimagesand the moltenimages.
For I was ashamedto requestfrom the kingtroopsand horsemento protectus from the enemyon the way,becausewe had saidto the king,"The handof our Godis favorablydisposedto allthose who seekHim, but His powerand His angerare againstallthose who forsakeHim."
I soughtthe LORD,and He answeredme, And deliveredme from allmy fears.
Godhas lookeddownfrom heavenupon the sonsof menTo seeif thereis anyone who understands,Who seeksafter God.
"I have not spokenin secret,In somedarkland;I did not sayto the offspringof Jacob,SeekMe in a wasteplace;I, the LORD,speakrighteousness,Declaringthingsthat are upright.
"Do not goup, oryou will be struckdownbeforeyour enemies,for the LORDis not amongyou.
"For the Amalekitesand the Canaaniteswill be therein frontof you, and you will fallby the sword,inasmuchas you have turnedbackfrom followingthe LORD.And the LORDwill not be with you."
"But from thereyou will seekthe LORDyour God,and you will find[Him] ifyou searchfor Him with allyour heartand allyour soul.
"Ifyou forsakethe LORDand serveforeigngods,then He will turnand doyou harmand consumeyou afterHe has donegoodto you."
"Yet you have forsakenMe and servedothergods;thereforeI will nolongerdeliveryou.
"Ifyou will fearthe LORDand serveHim, and listento His voiceand not rebelagainstthe commandof the LORD,then bothyou and alsothe kingwhoreignsoveryou will followthe LORDyour God.
"Ifyou will not listento the voiceof the LORD,but rebelagainstthe commandof the LORD,then the handof the LORDwill be against you, [as it was] against your fathers.
So he was an adversaryto Israelallthe daysof Solomon,along with the evilthat Hadad[did]; and he abhorredIsraeland reignedoverAram.
[He put] shieldsand spearsin everycityand strengthenedthem greatly.So he heldJudahand Benjamin.
Therefore the LORDbroughtthe commandersof the armyof the kingof Assyriaagainstthem, and they capturedManassehwith hooks,boundhim with bronze[chains] and tookhim to Babylon.
"Listento me, you who pursuerighteousness,Who seekthe LORD:Lookto the rockfrom which you were hewnAnd to the quarryfrom which you were dug.
"Have you not donethisto yourself By your forsakingthe LORDyour GodWhenHe ledyou in the way?
Seekgoodand not evil,that you may live;And thusmay the LORDGodof hostsbe with you, Justas you have said!
"Therefore sayto them, 'Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,"Returnto Me," declaresthe LORDof hosts,"that I may returnto you," saysthe LORDof hosts.
