2 Kings 14

1 In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, began Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah to reign.

After Jehoash had been ruling Israel for almost two years, Joash’s son Amaziah became the king of Judah.

2 Twenty-five years old, was he when he began to reign, and twenty-nine years, reigned he in Jerusalem, —and, his mother’s name, was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

He was 25 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Jehoaddin; she was from Jerusalem.

3 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, only, not like David his father: according to all that Joash his father did, so he did;

Amaziah did many things that pleased Yahweh, but he did not do as many things that pleased Yahweh as King David had done. He did some of the good things that his father Joash had done.

4 only, the high places, took they not away, —still were the people sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.

But, [like his father, ] he did not tear down the places for worshipping Yahweh at pagan shrines. The people continued to burn incense [to honor Yahweh] on those hills [instead of in Jerusalem, the place that Yahweh had appointed].

5 And it came to pass that, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, he smote his servants who smote the king his father;

As soon as he was completely in control of his kingdom, he caused to be executed the officials who had murdered his father.

6 but, the sons of them that smote him, slew he not, —as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh commanded, saying—Fathers, shall not be put to death, for sons, nor shall, sons, be put to death, for fathers, but every man, for his own sin, shall be put to death.

But he did not execute their children. He obeyed what was written in the laws that God gave to Moses: “Parents must not be executed for [the crimes/sins committed by] their children, and children must not be executed for [crimes/sins committed by] their parents. People must be executed only for the sins that they themselves [have committed].”

7 He, smote Edom, in the valley of salt, ten thousand, and seized Sela, in the war, —and called the name thereof Joktheel, [as it is] until this day.

Amaziah’s soldiers killed 10,000 soldiers of the Edom people-group in the Salt Valley [south of the Dead Sea], and they captured Sela [city] and gave it a new name, Joktheel. That is still its name.

8 Then, sent Amaziah messengers unto Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, —Come now, let us look one another in the face.

Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash of Israel, saying “Come here and let’s talk together.”

9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, A thistle that was in Lebanon, sent unto a cedar that was in Lebanon, saying—Give thy daughter to my son to wife, —and there passed by a beast of the field that was in Lebanon, and trampled down the thistle:

But King Jehoash replied to King Amaziah: “Once a thornbush growing [in the mountains] in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in order that he may marry her.’ But a wild animal in Lebanon passed by the thornbush and trampled it.

10 Thou hast, smitten, Edom, and, thy heart, would lift thee up, —Glory, and stay at home! Wherefore, then, shouldest thou contend with misfortune, and fall, thou, and Judah with thee?

[The meaning of what I am saying is that] your army has defeated the army of Edom, so now you have become very proud. But you should be content with defeating the people of Edom, and allow your soldiers to stay at home. If you cause trouble [by fighting against] us, you will surely [RHQ] cause a disaster to happen to you and to your people.”

11 But Amaziah hearkened not. So then Jehoash king of Israel came up, and they looked one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, —in Beth-shemesh, which belongeth unto Judah.

But Amaziah refused to heed Jehoash’s message. So he marched with his army to fight against the Israeli army at Beth-Shemesh [city] in Judah.

12 Then was Judah defeated before Israel, —and they fled, every man to his own home;

The Israeli army defeated the army of Judah, and all the soldiers of Judah fled and ran back home.

13 and, upon Amaziah, king of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, did Jehoash king of Israel, seize, in Beth-shemesh, —and entered Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, at the gate of Ephraim, as far as the corner gate, four hundred cubits;

Jehoash’s army also captured King Amaziah there, and they also marched to Jerusalem and tore down the wall that was around the city, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That was a section that was about (200 yards/180 meters) long.

14 and took all the gold and the silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasuries of the house of the king, and hostages, —and returned to Samaria.

Jehoash’s soldiers seized all the gold and silver that they found, and all the utensils that were in the temple, and all the valuable things that were in the palace, and took them to Samaria. They also took to Samaria some prisoners whom they had captured.

15 Now, the rest of the story of Jehoash, what he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

[If you want to know about] all the other things that Jehoash did when he was king, including when he [and his army] fought against [the army of] King Amaziah of Judah, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel, —and, Jeroboam his son, reigned, in his stead.

Jehoash died [EUP], and he was buried in Samaria, where the other kings of Israel had been buried. Then his son Jeroboam became the king.

17 And Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, lived, after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, fifteen years.

Amaziah, the king of Judah, lived for 15 more years after Jehoash, the king of Israel, died.

18 Now, the rest of the story of Amaziah, is, it, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

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

19 And, when they made against him a conspiracy in Jerusalem, he fled to Lachish, —but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him, there.

Some people in Jerusalem plotted against Amaziah, so he fled to Lachish [city]. But they followed him there and killed him.

20 And they bare him on horses, —and he was buried in Jerusalem, with his fathers, in the city of David.

They took his corpse back to Jerusalem and buried it where his ancestors had been buried, in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’.

21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, he, being sixteen yearn old, —and made, him, king instead of his father Amaziah.

Then all the people of Judah appointed Amaziah’s son Uzziah, when he was 16 years old, to be their king

22 He, built Elath, and restored it to Judah, —after the king slept with his fathers.

After his father died, Uzziah’s workers captured Elath [city], and it came under the control of Judah again.

23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, began Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, to reign in Samaria, [and he reigned] forty-one years.

When Amaziah had been ruling Judah for almost 15 years, Jeroboam became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria [city] for 41 years.

24 And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, —he turned not away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He did not stop committing the same kind of sins that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, committed, sins which led the Israeli people to sin also.

25 He, restored the boundary of Israel, from the entering in of Hamath, unto the sea of the waste plain, —according to the word of Yahweh, God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.

His soldiers conquered again some of the territory that had previously belonged to Israel, from Hamath [city] in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. That is what Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis worshiped, promised the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, from Gath-Hepher [town], would happen.

26 For Yahweh saw the humiliation of Israel, that it was bitter, indeed, —and that there was no one shut up, nor any one left at large, no one indeed to help Israel.

That happened because Yahweh saw that [the Israelis’ enemies were causing] the Israelis [to] suffer very much. And there was absolutely no one [IDM] who would help them.

27 Neither had Yahweh spoken, to wipe out the name of Israel from under the heavens, —so he saved them, by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.

But Yahweh said that he would not destroy Israel completely, so he enabled King Jeroboam to rescue them.

28 Now, the rest of the story of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might when he warred, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

[If you want to know more about] everything else that Jeroboam did, [about] his fighting courageously in battles, and [about] his [enabling the Israelis to] capture again Damascus and Hamath [cities], they are written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, —and, Zechariah his son, reigned, in his stead.

Jeroboam died [EUP], [and was buried] where the other kings of Israel [were buried], and his son Zechariah became the king.