Amaziah Reigns over Judah

14 In the second year of Jo′ash the son of Jo′ahaz, king of Israel, Amazi′ah the son of Jo′ash, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jeho-ad′din of Jerusalem. ³ And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father; he did in all things as Jo′ash his father had done. ⁴ But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁵ And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand he killed his servants who had slain the king his father. ⁶ But he did not put to death the children of the murderers; according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, or the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.”

⁷ He killed ten thousand E′domites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Jok′the-el, which is its name to this day.

⁸ Then Amazi′ah sent messengers to Jeho′ash the son of Jeho′ahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” ⁹ And Jeho′ash king of Israel sent word to Amazi′ah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife’; and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁰ You have indeed smitten Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amazi′ah would not listen. So Jeho′ash king of Israel went up, and he and Amazi′ah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-she′mesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ¹³ And Jeho′ash king of Israel captured Amazi′ah king of Judah, the son of Jeho′ash, son of Ahazi′ah, at Beth-she′mesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits, from the E′phraim Gate to the Corner Gate. ¹⁴ And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samar′ia.

¹⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jeho′ash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amazi′ah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹⁶ And Jeho′ash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samar′ia with the kings of Israel; and Jerobo′am his son reigned in his stead.

¹⁷ Amazi′ah the son of Jo′ash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jeho′ash son of Jeho′ahaz, king of Israel. ¹⁸ Now the rest of the deeds of Amazi′ah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ¹⁹ And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. ²⁰ And they brought him upon horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. ²¹ And all the people of Judah took Azari′ah,^[a] who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amazi′ah. ²² He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.

Jeroboam II Reigns over Israel

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amazi′ah the son of Jo′ash, king of Judah, Jerobo′am the son of Jo′ash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samar′ia, and he reigned forty-one years. ²⁴ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. ²⁵ He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amit′tai, the prophet, who was from Gath-he′pher. ²⁶ For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. ²⁷ But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jerobo′am the son of Jo′ash.

²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jerobo′am, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁹ And Jerobo′am slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel, and Zechari′ah his son reigned in his stead.

Azariah Reigns over Judah

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jerobo′am king of Israel Azari′ah the son of Amazi′ah, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoli′ah of Jerusalem. ³ And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amazi′ah had done. ⁴ Nevertheless the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ⁵ And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land. ⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Azari′ah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ⁷ And Azari′ah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

Zechariah Reigns over Israel

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Azari′ah king of Judah Zechari′ah the son of Jerobo′am reigned over Israel in Samar′ia six months. ⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. ¹⁰ Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him down at Ibleam,^[b] and killed him, and reigned in his stead. ¹¹ Now the rest of the deeds of Zechari′ah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹² (This was the promise of the Lord which he gave to Jehu, “Your sons shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.)

Shallum Reigns over Israel

¹³ Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzzi′ah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samar′ia. ¹⁴ Then Men′ahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samar′ia, and he struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samar′ia and slew him, and reigned in his stead. ¹⁵ Now the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁶ At that time Men′ahem sacked Tap′pu-ah^[c] and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on; because they did not open it to him, therefore he sacked it, and he ripped up all the women in it who were with child.

Menahem Reigns over Israel

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azari′ah king of Judah Men′ahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samar′ia. ¹⁸ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. ¹⁹ Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Men′ahem gave Pul^[d] a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold of the royal power. ²⁰ Men′ahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. ²¹ Now the rest of the deeds of Men′ahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²² And Men′ahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahi′ah his son reigned in his stead.

Pekahiah Reigns over Israel

²³ In the fiftieth year of Azari′ah king of Judah Pekahi′ah the son of Men′ahem began to reign over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned two years. ²⁴ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. ²⁵ And Pekah the son of Remali′ah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the Gileadites, and slew him in Samar′ia, in the citadel of the king’s house;^[e] he slew him, and reigned in his stead. ²⁶ Now the rest of the deeds of Pekahi′ah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Pekah Reigns over Israel

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azari′ah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remali′ah began to reign over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned twenty years. ²⁸ And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel Tig′lath-pile′ser king of Assyria came and captured I′jon, A′bel-beth-ma′acah, Jan-o′ah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naph′tali; and he carried the people captive to Assyria. ³⁰ Then Hoshe′a the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remali′ah, and struck him down, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzzi′ah. ³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Jotham Reigns over Judah

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remali′ah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzzi′ah, king of Judah, began to reign. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jeru′sha the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzzi′ah had done. ³⁵ Nevertheless the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord. ³⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ³⁷ In those days the Lord began to send Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remali′ah against Judah. ³⁸ Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

The Gifts of Wisdom

Salutation

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.

To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Acha′ia:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Thanksgiving after Affliction

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.^{[a] 6} If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction^[b] we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Why, we felt that we had received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead; ¹⁰ he delivered us from so deadly a peril, and he will deliver us; on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. ¹¹ You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.

The Postponement of Paul’s Visit

¹² For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have behaved in the world, and still more toward you, with holiness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God. ¹³ For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand; I hope you will understand fully, ¹⁴ as you have understood in part, that you can be proud of us as we can be of you, on the day of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double pleasure;^{[c] 16} I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedo′nia, and to come back to you from Macedo′nia and have you send me on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans like a worldly man, ready to say Yes and No at once? ¹⁸ As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, Silva′nus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No; but in him it is always Yes. ²⁰ For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God. ²¹ But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; ²² he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

²³ But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.