2 Kings 14

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

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

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 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.

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 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].

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

And when he had obtained the kingdom, he struck down those of his servants who had killed his father, the king.

6 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].”

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 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.

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 King Jehoash of Israel, saying “Come here and let’s talk together.”

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 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.

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 [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.”

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

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

And Judah was struck down before Israel, and they fled, each to their own tents.

13 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.

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 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.

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 [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’.

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 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.

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

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 [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’.

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

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 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’.

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 appointed Amaziah’s son Uzziah, when he was 16 years old, to be their king

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

He built up Elath, and he restored it to Judah, after which the king slept with his fathers.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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 [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’.

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

And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah, his son, reigned in his place.