Judah’s King Amaziah

14 In(A) the second year of Israel’s King Jehoash[a](B) son of Jehoahaz,[b] Amaziah(C) son of Joash became king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan;[c] she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the Lord’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done.(D) Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.(E)

As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah killed his servants who had killed his father the king.(F) However, he did not put the children of the killers to death, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses where the Lord commanded, “Fathers are not to be put to death because of children, and children are not to be put to death because of fathers; instead, each one will be put to death for his own sin.”(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 14:1 Lit Joash, also in vv. 23,27
  2. 14:1 Lit Joahaz
  3. 14:2 Alt Hb tradition, some Hb mss, Syr, Tg, Vg, 2Ch 25:1; other Hb mss, LXX read Jehoaddin

Amaziah King of Judah(A)(B)

14 In the second year of Jehoash[a] son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. The high places,(C) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

After the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed(D) the officials(E) who had murdered his father the king. Yet he did not put the children of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law(F) of Moses where the Lord commanded: “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”[b](G)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 14:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash; also in verses 13, 23 and 27
  2. 2 Kings 14:6 Deut. 24:16