< 2 Kings 14 >

1 In the second year of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel: Amaziah, the son of Jehoash, reigned as king of Judah. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. 3 And he did what is right before the Lord, yet truly, not like David, his father. He acted in accord with all the things that his father Jehoash did, 4 except for this alone: he did not take away the high places. For still the people were immolating, and burning incense, in the high places. 5 And when he had obtained the kingdom, he struck down those of his servants who had killed his father, the king. 6 But the sons of those who had been killed he did not put to death, in accord with what was written in the book of the law of Moses, just as the Lord instructed, saying: “The fathers shall not die for the sons, and the sons shall not die for the fathers. Instead, each one shall die for his own sin.” 7 He struck down ten thousand men of Idumea, in the Valley of the Salt Pits. And he captured ‘the Rock’ in battle, and he called its name ‘Subdued by God,’ even to the present day. 8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying: “Come, and let us see one another.” 9 And Joash, the king of Israel, sent a reply to Amaziah, the king of Judah, saying: “A thistle of Lebanon sent to a cedar, which is in Lebanon, saying: ‘Give your daughter as wife to my son.’ And the beasts of the forest, which are in Lebanon, passed by and trampled the thistle. 10 You have struck and prevailed over Idumea. And your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your own glory, and be seated in your own house. Why would you provoke evil, so that you would fall, and Judah with you?” 11 But Amaziah was not quieted. And so Joash, the king of Israel, went up. And he and Amaziah, the king of Judah, saw one another at Beth-shemesh, a town in Judah. 12 And Judah was struck down before Israel, and they fled, each to their own tents. 13 And truly, Joash, the king of Israel, captured Amaziah, the king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. And he brought him to Jerusalem. And he breached the wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of Ephraim as far as the gate of the Corner, four hundred cubits. 14 And he took away all the gold and silver, and all the vessels, which were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king, and he returned to Samaria with hostages. 15 But the rest of the words of Joash, which he accomplished, and his strength, with which he fought against Amaziah, the king of Judah, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 16 And Joash slept with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel. And Jeroboam, his son, reigned in his place. 17 Now Amaziah, the son of Jehoash, the king of Judah, lived for fifteen years after the death of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel. 18 And the rest of the words of Amaziah, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? 19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. And he fled to Lachish. And they sent after him, to Lachish, and they killed him there. 20 And they carried him away on horses. And he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers, in the city of David. 21 Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, at sixteen years from birth, and they appointed him as king in place of his father, Amaziah. 22 He built up Elath, and he restored it to Judah, after which the king slept with his fathers. 23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, the son of Jehoash, the king of Judah: Jeroboam, the son of Joash, the king of Israel, reigned, in Samaria, for forty-one years. 24 And he did what is evil before the Lord. He did not withdraw from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 25 He restored the borders of Israel, from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Wilderness, in accord with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke through his servant, the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, who was from Gath, which is in Hepher. 26 For the Lord saw the exceedingly bitter affliction of Israel, and that they were being consumed, even to those who were enclosed in prison, and even to the least ones, and that there was no one who would help Israel. 27 But the Lord did not say that he would wipe away the name of Israel from under heaven. So instead, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash. 28 But the rest of the words of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his strength, with which he went to battle, and the manner in which he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah, in Israel, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah, his son, reigned in his place.

< 2 Kings 14 >