2 Kings 14

1 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned hath Amaziah 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 a son of twenty and five years was he in his reigning, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] 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 doth that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah, only not like David his father, according to all that Joash his father did he hath done,

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 only, the high places have not turned aside — yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in 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 cometh to pass, when the kingdom hath been strong in his hand, that he smiteth his servants, those smiting 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 and the sons of those smiting [him] he hath not put to death, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses that Jehovah commanded, saying, 'Fathers are not put to death for sons, and sons are not put to death for fathers, but each for his own sin is put to death.'

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 hath smitten Edom, in the valley of salt — ten thousand, and seized Selah in war, and [one] calleth its name Joktheel unto 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 hath Amaziah sent messengers unto Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, 'Come, we 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 king of Israel sendeth unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, 'The thorn that [is] in Lebanon hath sent unto the cedar that [is] in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife; and pass by doth a beast of the field that [is] in Lebanon, and treadeth down the thorn.

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 certainly smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up; be honoured, and abide in thy house; and why dost thou stir thyself up in evil, that thou hast fallen, 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 And Amaziah hath not hearkened, and go up doth Jehoash king of Israel, and they look one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, in Beth-Shemesh, that [is] Judah's,

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 is smitten before Israel, and they flee each to his tent.

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

13 And Amaziah king of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, caught hath Jehoash king of Israel in Beth-Shemesh, and they come in to Jerusalem, and he bursteth through the wall of Jerusalem, at the gate of Ephraim unto the gate of the corner, 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 hath taken all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that are found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the house of the king, and the sons of the pledges, and turneth back 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 And the rest of the matters of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on 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 lieth with his fathers, and is buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and reign doth Jeroboam his son 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 son of Joash king of Judah liveth 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 matters of Amaziah are they not written on 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 And they make a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fleeth to Lachish, and they send after him to Lachish, and put him to death there,

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

20 and lift him up on the horses, and he is buried in 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 take Azariah, and he [is] a son of sixteen years, and cause him to reign 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 hath built Elath, and bringeth it back to Judah, after the lying of the king 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 son of Joash king of Judah, reigned hath Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel in Samaria — 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 doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused 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 hath brought back the border of Israel, from the entering in of Hamath unto the sea of the desert, according to the word of Jehovah, God of Israel, that He spake by the hand of His servant Jonah son of Amittai the prophet, who [is] 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 Jehovah hath seen the affliction of Israel — very bitter, and there is none restrained, and there is none left, and there is no helper to 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 Jehovah hath not spoken to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens, and saveth them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.

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

28 And the rest of the matters of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought, and with which he brought back Damascus, and Hamath of Judah, into Israel, are they not written on 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 lieth with his fathers, with the kings of Israel, and reign doth Zechariah his son in his stead.

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