2 Kings 14

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

Amaziah, son of Joash, became king of Judah in the second year of the reign of Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.

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 when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Jehoaddan of 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.

He did what was right in the Lord's sight, but not in the same way as his forefather David had. He did everything just as his father Joash had done.

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].

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

Once he was secure on the throne he executed the officials who had murdered 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 he did not execute the murderers' children, following the Lord's command in the law of Moses that “Fathers must not be put to death for their children's sins, and children must not be put to death for their father's sins. Everyone is to die for their 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.

Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He attacked and captured Sela and renamed it Joktheel, which is what it is called to this very day.

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

Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel, Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, telling him, “Let's fight, face to face!”

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.

Jehoash, king of Israel, replied to Amaziah, king of Judah: “In Lebanon a thistle sent a message to a cedar, saying, ‘Give your daughter as a wife to my son.’ But a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down 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 may indeed have defeated Edom. Now you've become arrogant. Stay home and enjoy your victory! Why provoke trouble that will bring you down, 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 refused to listen, so Jehoash, king of Israel, came to attack him. He and Amaziah, king of Judah, met face to face at Beth Shemesh in Judah.

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

The army of Judah was defeated by Israel, and ran away home.

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.

Jehoash, king of Israel, captured Amaziah, king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash attacked Jerusalem and knocked down the city wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, about four hundred cubits in length.

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.

He removed all the gold and silver, and all the items found in the Lord's Temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and also some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

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’.

The rest of what happened in Jehoash's reign, all he did, and his great achievements and his war with Amaziah, king of Judah, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles 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.

Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam succeeded him as king.

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

Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, lived for fifteen more years after the death of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, 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’.

The rest of the events that happened in Amaziah's reign are recorded in the Book of Chronicles 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.

A conspiracy against Amaziah took place in Jerusalem, and he ran away to Lachish. But men were sent after him and they murdered 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’.

They brought him back on horses and buried him in Jerusalem with his forefathers 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 made Amaziah's son Azariah king to replace his father. Azariah was sixteen years old.

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

Azariah recaptured Elath for Judah and rebuilt it after his father's death.

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.

Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, became king of Israel in the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah. He 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.

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

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 border of Israel to where it had been, from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had said through his servant Jonah, son of Amittai, the prophet, who came from Gath-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.

The Lord had seen how badly the Israelites were suffering, both slave and free. No one was there to help Israel.

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

However, since the Lord had said that he would not wipe out Israel, he saved them through Jeroboam, son of Jehoash.

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’.

The rest of what happened in Jeroboam's reign, all he did, his great achievements and the battles he fought, and how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles 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.

Jeroboam died and was buried with the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah succeeded him as king.