Amaziah’s Reign over Judah

14 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Joash son of Joahaz,^[a] Joash’s^[b] son Amaziah became king over Judah. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother^[c] was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. ³ He did what the Lord approved,^[d] but not like David his ancestor had done. He followed the example of his father Joash.^{[e] 4} But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

⁵ When he had secured control of the kingdom,^[f] he executed the servants who had assassinated his father.^{[g] 6} But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the scroll of the law of Moses, “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do,^[h] and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do.^[i] A man must be put to death only for his own sin.”^[j]