2 Kings 15

1 After Jeroboam had been ruling Israel for almost twenty-seven years, Uzziah, the son of King Amaziah of Judah, began to rule.

Azariah, son of Amaziah, became king of Judah in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Jeroboam, king of Israel.

2 He was 16 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem.

He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

3 He did things that Yahweh was pleased with, like his father Amaziah had done.

He did what was right in the Lord's sight, just as his father Amaziah had done.

4 But, the places at the pagan shrines where they worshiped Yahweh were not destroyed, and the people continued to burn incense [to honor Yahweh] at those places [instead of in Jerusalem, the place that Yahweh had appointed].

But the high places were not removed. The people still were sacrificing and presenting burnt offerings in those places.

5 Yahweh caused Uzziah to become a leper, and he was a leper for the rest of his life. [He was not allowed to live in the palace]. He lived alone in a house, and his son Jotham ruled the country.

The Lord touched the king and he had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and was the country's actual ruler.

6 [If you want to know about] everything else that Uzziah did, it is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

The rest of what happened in Azariah's reign and all he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

7 Uzziah died [EUP], and they buried him in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors had been buried. Then his son Jotham officially became the king.

Azariah died and was buried with his fore fathers in the City of David. His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

8 After Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost thirty-eight years, Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria [city] for [only] six months.

Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Azariah, king of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for six months.

9 He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, like his ancestors had done. He committed the same kind of sins that Jeroboam had committed, sins which led the Israeli people to sin.

He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, as his forefathers had done. He did not end the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel commit.

10 Then Shallum, the son of Jabesh, made plans to assassinate Zechariah. He killed him at Ibleam [town], and then he became the king.

Then Shallum, son of Jabesh, plotted against Zechariah. He attacked him, murdering him in front of the people, and took over as king.

11 Everything else that Zechariah did is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

The rest of the events of Zechariah's reign are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

12 When Zechariah died, [that ended the dynasty of King Jehu]. That fulfilled what Yahweh said to King Jehu would happen: “Your son and grandson and great-grandson and great-great-grandson will all be kings of Israel.”

In this way what the Lord told Jehu came true: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”

13 Shallum, the son of Jabesh, became the king of Israel after King Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost thirty-nine years. But Shallum ruled in Samaria for [only] one month.

Shallum, son of Jabesh, became king in the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for one month.

14 Then Menahem, the son of Gadi, went up from Tirzah [city] to Samaria and assassinated Shallum. Then Menahem became the king of Israel.

Then Menahem, son of Gadi, went from Tirzah to Samaria, attacked and murdered Shallum, son of Jabesh, and took over as king.

15 Everything else that Shallum did, including his killing King Zechariah, is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

The rest of the events of Shallum's reign and the rebellion he plotted are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

16 While Menahem was ruling in Samaria, he completely destroyed Tappuah [village south of Samaria] and killed all the people who lived there and in the surrounding territory. He did that because the people in that city refused to surrender to him. [With his sword] he even ripped open the bellies of pregnant women.

At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and the region nearby, because they would not surrender the town to him. So he destroyed Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.

17 When King Azariah had been ruling Judah for almost thirty-nine years, Menahem, the son of Gadi, became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for ten years.

Menahem, son of Gadi, became king of Israel in the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King Azariah of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for ten years.

18 He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He committed the same kinds of sins that King Jeroboam had committed, sins that led the people of Israel to sin. He continued to commit those sins for the rest of his life.

Throughout his reign he did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He did not end the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel commit.

19 Then King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria came [with his army] to attack Israel. So Menahem gave him (thirty-eight tons/35,000 kg.) of silver in order that Tiglath-Pileser would help Menahem to continue to be king and rule his country more strongly.

Pul, king of Assyria, invaded the country. Menahem paid Pul a thousand talents of silver to support Menahem in consolidating his power over the kingdom.

20 Menahem obtained that money from the rich men in Israel. He compelled each of them to contribute 50 pieces of silver. So Tiglath-Pileser [took that money and] went back home.

Menahem demanded payment from all the wealthy men of Israel, fifty shekels of silver each, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria retreated and did not stay in the country.

21 [If you want to know more about] everything that Menahem did, it is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

The rest of what happened in Menahem's reign and all he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

22 Menahem died [EUP] and was buried, and his son Pekahiah became the king of Israel.

Menahem died, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.

23 When King Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost 50 years, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for [only] two years.

Pekahiah, son of Menahem, became king of Israel in Samaria in the fiftieth year of the reign of King Azariah of Judah, and he reigned for two years.

24 He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He committed the same kind of sins that King Jeroboam had committed, sins which led the people of Israel to sin.

He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He did not end the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel commit.

25 Then one of Pekahiah’s army commanders whose name was Pekah, the son of Remaliah, planned with 50 men from [the] Gilead [region] to kill Pekahiah. They assassinated him in a fortified place in the king’s palace in Samaria. Then Pekah became the king.

Pekah, son of Remaliah, one of his officers plotted against him together with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men from Gilead. Pekah attacked and killed Pekahiah in the fortress of the king's palace in Samaria, and took over as king.

26 Everything else that Pekahiah did is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

The rest of what happened in Pekahiah's reign and all he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

27 When King Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost 52 years, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for 20 years.

Pekah, son of Remaliah, became king of Israel in the fifty-second year of the reign of King Azariah of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years.

28 He also did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He committed the same kind of sins that King Jeroboam had committed, sins that led the people of Israel to sin.

He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He did not end the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel commit.

29 While Pekah was the king, Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, came [with his army] and captured [the cities of] Ijon, Abel-Beth-Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, and the regions of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali. His army forced the Israeli people to leave their country and go to live in Assyria.

During the reign of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, invaded and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people to Assyria as prisoners.

30 Then Hoshea, the son of Elah, plotted to kill Pekah. He assassinated him when Uzziah’s son Jotham had been ruling Judah for almost 20 years. Then Hoshea became the king of Israel.

Then Hoshea, son of Elah, plotted against Pekah, son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and took over as king.

31 Everything else that Pekah did is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

The rest of what happened in Pekah's reign and all he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

32 When Pekah had been ruling Israel for almost two years, Uzziah’s son Jotham began to rule Judah.

Jotham, son of Uzziah, became king of Judah in the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel.

33 He was 25 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

He was twenty-five when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother's name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok.

34 He did many things that pleased Yahweh, like his father Uzziah had done.

He did what was right in the Lord's sight, just as his father Uzziah had done.

35 But he did not destroy the places on the tops of hills where the people worshiped [Yahweh], and the people continued to burn incense there [to honor Yahweh]. Jotham’s workers built the Upper Gate of the temple.

But the high places were not removed. The people still were sacrificing and presenting burnt offerings in those places. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Lord's Temple.

36 [If you want to know more about] everything else that Jotham did, it is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

The rest of the events of Jotham's reign are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

37 It was during the time that Jotham was the king that Yahweh sent King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel [with their armies] to attack Judah.

During that time the Lord started sending Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, to attack Judah.

38 Jotham died [EUP] and was buried where his ancestors had been buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. Then his son Ahaz became the king of Judah.

Jotham died and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David, his ancestor. His son Ahaz succeeded him as king.