2 Chronicles 15:4 (ASV)

Passage

But when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 15:2 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.

2 Chronicles 15:3 Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law:

2 Chronicles 15:4 But when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

2 Chronicles 15:5 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.

2 Chronicles 15:6 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "distress", "turned", "jehovah", "israel", "sought", and "found". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "distress" and "turned", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Now for a long season Israel was..." into verse 5's "And in those times there was no...", so "distress" and "turned" belong inside that flow. In 2 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "distress" and "turned" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.