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2 Chronicles 25:5-16
New English Translation

5 Amaziah assembled the people of Judah[a] and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of 1,000 and the commanders of units of 100 for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age[b] equipped with spears and shields.[c] 6 He hired 100,000 Israelite warriors for 100 talents[d] of silver.

7 But a prophet[e] visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites.[f] 8 Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you[g] before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.”[h] 9 Amaziah asked the prophet:[i] “But what should I do about the 100 talents of silver I paid the Israelite troops?” The prophet[j] replied, “The Lord is capable of giving you more than that.” 10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home.[k] They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed. 11 Amaziah boldly led his army to the Valley of Salt,[l] where he defeated[m] 10,000 Edomites.[n] 12 The men[o] of Judah captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them over.[p] All the captives[q] fell to their death.[r] 13 Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle[s] raided[t] the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed[u] 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.

14 When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people[v] of Seir and made them his personal gods.[w] He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices. 15 The Lord was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why are you following[x] these gods[y] that could not deliver their own people from your power?”[z] 16 While he was speaking, Amaziah[aa] said to him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!”[ab] So the prophet stopped, but added, “I know that God has decided[ac] to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 25:5 tn Heb “Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy here for the people of Judah.
  2. 2 Chronicles 25:5 tn Heb “young men going out to war.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 25:5 tn Heb “holding a spear and a shield.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 25:6 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
  5. 2 Chronicles 25:7 tn Heb “man of God.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 25:7 tn Heb “Israel, all the sons of Ephraim.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 25:8 tn Heb “cause you to stumble.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 25:8 tn Heb “to cause to stumble.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 25:9 tn Heb “said to the man of God.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 25:9 tn Heb “man of God.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 25:10 tn Heb “and Amaziah separated them, the troops who came to him from Ephraim, to go to their place.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 25:11 tn Heb “and Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people and went to the Valley of Salt.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 25:11 tn Or “struck down.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 25:11 tn Heb “sons of Seir.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 25:12 tn Heb “sons.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 25:12 tn Heb “and threw them from the top of the cliff.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 25:12 tn Heb “all of them.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 25:12 tn Heb “smashed in pieces.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 25:13 tn Heb “had sent back from going with him to the battle.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 25:13 tn Heb “stripped.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 25:13 tn Heb “struck down.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 25:14 tn Heb “sons.”
  23. 2 Chronicles 25:14 tn Heb “caused them to stand for him as gods.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 25:15 tn Heb “seeking,” perhaps in the sense of “consulting [an oracle from].”
  25. 2 Chronicles 25:15 tn Heb “the gods of the people.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 25:15 tn Heb “hand.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 25:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. 2 Chronicles 25:16 tn Heb “Stop yourself! Why should they strike you down?”
  29. 2 Chronicles 25:16 tn The verb יָעַץ (yaʿats, “has decided”) is from the same root as יוֹעֵץ (yoʿets, “counselor”) in v. 16 and עֵצָה (ʿetsah, “advice”) later in v. 16. The wordplay highlights the appropriate nature of the divine punishment. Amaziah rejected the counsel of God’s prophet; now he would be the victim of God’s “counsel.”
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2 Chronicles 25:5-16
Amplified Bible

Amaziah Defeats Edomites

5 Amaziah assembled [the men of] Judah and appointed them in accordance with their fathers’ (ancestors’) households under commanders of thousands and of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin. He numbered them from twenty years old and above and found there to be 300,000 choice men fit for war and able to handle spear and shield. 6 He also hired 100,000 brave warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let this army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of [a]Ephraim. 8 But if you do go [in spite of this warning], be strong and courageous for battle; yet God will cause you to stumble and fall before the enemy, for God has power to help and to cause people to stumble.” 9 Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I gave to the troops of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” 10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops that came to him from Ephraim, to go home. So their anger was kindled and burned greatly against Judah, and they returned home in the heat of anger.

11 Now Amaziah took courage and led his people out to the Valley of Salt, and he struck down 10,000 of the men of Seir (Edom). 12 The sons of Judah also captured 10,000 alive and brought them to the top of the cliff. They threw them down from the top of the cliff and they were all crushed to pieces. 13 But the troops whom Amaziah sent back, those not allowed to go with him to battle, attacked and raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 men and took a large amount of spoil.

Amaziah Rebuked for Idolatry

14 After Amaziah came back from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, bowed before them, and burned incense to them. 15 So the anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you [b]desired the gods of the people who did not save their own people from your hand?” 16 As he was talking, the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop! Why should you be put to death?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done this and have ignored my advice.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 25:7 The dominant tribe in the Israel, the Northern Kingdom.
  2. 2 Chronicles 25:15 Lit sought.
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