2 Kings 14

1 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah.

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

2 He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and [he] reigned twenty and nine years 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 sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father 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 But, the high places were not taken away: as yet the people sacrificed, and burnt incense on 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, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants who had slain 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 children of the murderers he slew not: according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, in which the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

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 slew of Edom in the valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel to 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 Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, Come, 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 the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that [was] in Lebanon sent to the cedar that [was] in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and there passed by a wild beast that [was] in Lebanon, and trod 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 indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up: glory [of this], and tarry at home: for why shouldst thou meddle to [thy] hurt, that thou shouldst fall, [even] 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 would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up: and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which [belongeth] to 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 And Judah was defeated before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.

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

13 And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to 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 he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, 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 acts of Jehoash which 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 the 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 And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, [are] they 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 Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and 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 brought him on horses: and he was buried at 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, who [was] sixteen years 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 that 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 the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, [and reigned] forty and 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 [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

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 border of Israel from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah, the 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 the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, [that it was] very bitter: for [there was] not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for 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 And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the 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 acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, [which belonged] to Judah, for 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, [even] with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah 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.