Amaziah Reigns in Judah

14 (A)In the (B)second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, (C)Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. (D)But the high places were not removed; (E)the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. And as soon as the royal power was (F)firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants (G)who had struck down the king his father. 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, (H)“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”

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Amaziah rules Judah

14 Amaziah, the son of Judah’s King Jehoash,[a] became king in the second year of Israel’s King Joash, who was Jehoahaz’s son. Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, but not as well as his ancestor King David. He did everything his father Jehoash did. However, the shrines weren’t removed. People kept sacrificing and burning incense at them. Once he had secured control over his kingdom, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father the king. However, he didn’t kill the children of the murderers, because of what is written in the Instruction scroll from Moses, where the Lord commanded, Parents shouldn’t be executed because of what their children have done; neither should children be executed because of what their parents have done. Each person should be executed for their own guilty acts.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 14:1 Heb Joash (also in 14:3, 17, 23); the king’s name is variously spelled in either long Jehoash or short Joash form. The latter is the form used in 2 Chron.
  2. 2 Kings 14:6 Deut 24:16