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 Joas the son of Joachaz king of Israel, did Amessias also the son of Joas the king of Juda begin to reign.

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.

Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Joadim 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.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not as David his father: he did according to all things that his father Joas 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].

Only he removed not the high places: as yet the people sacrificed and burnt incense on 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 it came to pass when the kingdom was established in his hand, that he killed his servants that had slain the king his father.

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 killed not the sons of those that had slain him; according as it is written in the book of the laws of Moses, as the Lord gave commandment, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, and the children shall not be put to death for the fathers; but every one shall die for his own sins.

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 of Edom ten thousand in the valley of salt, and took the Rock in the war, and called its name Jethoel until this day.

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

Then Amessias sent messengers to Joas son of Joachaz son of Ju king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the 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.

And Joas the king of Israel sent to Amessias king of Juda, saying, The thistle that was in Libanus sent to the cedar that was in Libanus, saying, Give my daughter to your son to wife: and the wild beasts of the field that were in Libanus passed by and trod 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 have struck and wounded Edom, and your heart has lifted you up: stay at home and glorify yourself; for therefore are you quarrelsome to your hurt? So [both] you will fall and Juda 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.

Nevertheless Amessias listened not: so Joas king of Israel went up, and he and Amessias king of Juda looked one another in the face in Baethsamys of Juda.

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

And Juda was overthrown before Israel, and [every] man fled to his tent.

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 Joas king of Israel took Amessias the son of Joas the son of Ochozias, in Baethsamys; and he came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, [beginning] at 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 the gold, and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and the hostages, and returned 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’.

And the rest of the acts of Joas, [even] all that he did in his might, how he warred with Amessias king of Juda, are not these things written in the book of the 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.

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

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

And Amessias the son of Joas king of Juda lived after the death of Joas son of Joachaz king of Israel fifteen years.

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 acts of Amessias, and all that he did, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?

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

And they formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachis: and they sent after him to Lachis, and 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 brought him upon 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

And all the people of Juda took Azarias, and he was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amessias.

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

He built Aeloth, and restored it to Juda, after 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 Amessias son of Joas king of Juda began Jeroboam son of Joas to reign over Israel in Samaria forty and 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 that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who led 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 recovered the coast of Israel from the entering in of Aemath to the sea of Araba, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonas the son of Amathi, the prophet of Gethchopher.

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 [that] the affliction of Israel [was] very bitter, and that they were few in number, straitened and in lack, and destitute, and Israel had no helper.

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

And the Lord said that he would not blot out the seed of Israel from under heaven; so he delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joas.

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’.

And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his mighty deeds, which he achieved in war, and how he recovered Damascus and Aemath to Juda in Israel, [are] not these things written in the book of the 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.

And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zacharias his son reigned in his stead.