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.

In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah.

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 fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.

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

And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, 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].

Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

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.

And the LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, so that he lived in a separate house while his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

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’.

As for the rest of the acts of Azariah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the 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.

And Azariah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in the City of David. And his son Jotham reigned in his place.

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.

In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria 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.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to 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 conspired against Zechariah, struck him down and killed him in front of the people, and reigned in his place.

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

As for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, they are indeed written in the Book of the 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.”

So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”

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.

In the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah’s reign over Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king, and he reigned in Samaria one full 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 up from Tirzah to Samaria, struck down and killed Shallum son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place.

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

As for the rest of the acts of Shallum, along with the conspiracy he led, they are indeed written in the Book of the 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 everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked 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.

In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria 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.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and throughout his reign he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to 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.

Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on 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 exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel—fifty shekels of silver from each man—to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.

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’.

As for the rest of the acts of Menahem, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

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

And Menahem rested with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah reigned in his place.

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.

In the fiftieth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel and reigned in Samaria 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.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to 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.

Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.

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

As for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the 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.

In the fifty-second year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria 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.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to 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.

In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

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 led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.

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

As for the rest of the acts of Pekah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the 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.

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

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 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 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.

And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, 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.

Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD.

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’.

As for the rest of the acts of Jotham, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the 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.

(In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against 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.

And Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David his father. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.