Beginning

Amaziah Succeeds Joash^(A)

25 Amaziah began his reign at the age of 25 years, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan. She was from Jerusalem. ² He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, but not with a perfect heart. ³ As soon as he had consolidated his royal authority, he executed the servants who had killed his father, the king, ⁴ but he did not execute their children in obedience to what is written in the Law, the writings of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers are not to die because of what their children do, nor are children to die because of what their fathers do, but each person is to die for his own sins.”^[a]

The Edomites are Defeated^(B)

⁵ Amaziah gathered Judah together and organized them according to their ancestral households under commanders of thousands and hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered an army from those who were 20 years old and older. He discovered that there were 300,000 elite soldiers qualified for war duty and capable of handling spears and shields. ⁶ He also hired 100,000 elite forces from Israel, paying 100 talents^[b] of silver for their services.

⁷ A man came from God and warned him, “Your majesty, don’t let the army of Israel accompany you into battle, because the Lord isn’t with any of the descendants of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you do go, strengthen yourself for war. Do you think God will throw you down before the enemy, since God has the power both to help or to overthrow?”

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, “What are we to do about the 100 talents^[c] that I have paid to the army of Israel?”

The man of God answered, “The Lord has a lot more than that to give you!” ¹⁰ So Amaziah sent the troops home who had arrived from Ephraim. They flew into a rage against Judah but left for home very angry.

¹¹ But Amaziah encouraged himself and led his army out to the Salt Valley to kill 10,000 soldiers from Seir. ¹² The army of Judah captured another 10,000 prisoners and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down from there where they all were dashed to pieces. ¹³ Meanwhile, the troops that Amaziah had sent home from the battle raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, killing 3,000 people and taking a large amount of war booty.

¹⁴ Later, Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, but he brought back the gods that had belonged to the men of Seir, set them up as his own gods, worshipped them, and sacrificed offerings to them. ¹⁵ As a result, the Lord became angry with Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who asked him, “Why did you seek the gods of a people who were unable to deliver their own nation from you?”

¹⁶ But even while the prophet^[d] was speaking, the king asked him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped speaking, but he also said, “I know God has determined to destroy you, because you’ve done all this and ignored my counsel.”

Israel Defeats Judah^(C)

¹⁷ After this, King Amaziah of Judah sought some advice and then challenged Jehoahaz’ son King Joash of Israel, the grandson of Jehu, telling him, “Come out and let’s fight each other!”

¹⁸ But King Joash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah, “There once was a thorn bush in Lebanon that sent an invitation to the cedar of Lebanon that read ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Right about then, a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. ¹⁹ You claim you’ve defeated Edom, but you’re really only puffed up with arrogant boasting. So stay home. Why stir up trouble so you die, and the rest of Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah refused to listen, because the situation was being orchestrated by God in order to turn them over to the control of their enemies because they had pursued those Edomite gods. ²¹ So King Joash of Israel went out to battle against King Amaziah of Judah, and they fought at Beth-shemesh, which is part of Judah’s territory. ²² Judah was defeated by Israel, and every soldier ran home. ²³ King Joash of Israel captured Joash’s son King Amaziah of Judah, the grandson of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh and brought him back to Jerusalem, where he broke down 400 cubits^[e] of the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. ²⁴ He confiscated all the gold, silver, and utensils that he could find in the care of Obed-edom inside of God’s Temple and inside the royal palace. Then he took some hostages and returned to Samaria.

The Death of Amaziah^(D)

²⁵ Joash’s son Amaziah, king of Judah, lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoahaz’ son Joash, king of Israel. ²⁶ The rest of Amaziah’s accomplishments, from first to last, are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel, are they not? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah abandoned his seeking the Lord, some people conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he ran away to Lachish, but they pursued him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ They brought him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.

Uzziah Succeeds Amaziah^(E)

26 All the people of Judah made Uzziah king in place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was sixteen years old at the time. ² He rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah^[f] had been laid to rest^[g] with his ancestors. ³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah. She was from Jerusalem. ⁴ He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, following the example set by his father Amaziah’s accomplishments. ⁵ Uzziah^[h] kept on seeking God during the lifetime of Zechariah, who taught him how to fear God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosperous.

Uzziah’s Initial Successes

⁶ One time Uzziah^[i] went out and battled the Philistines. He tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and built cities in the Ashdod area among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped Uzziah^[j] defeat the Philistines, the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his reputation extended as far as the border with Egypt as he became stronger and stronger. ⁹ Uzziah also built towers in Jerusalem, at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle^[k] and fortified them. ¹⁰ He also built watchtowers in the wilderness and had many cisterns hewed out, since he also possessed large herds, both in the Shephelah^[l] and in the midland plains. He had many farmers and vinedressers throughout the hills and fertile lands because he loved farming.^[m]

¹¹ Uzziah kept a standing army, equipped for battle, garrisoned in divisions according to an organizational structure devised by his royal secretary Jeiel and his officer Maaseiah, who reported to Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. ¹² The number of senior leaders of the ancestral houses of his elite forces numbered 2,600. ¹³ Uzziah^[n] commanded an army of 307,500 who could fight formidably on behalf of the king against any enemy. ¹⁴ In addition, Uzziah equipped the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and stones for use in slings. ¹⁵ He also had various siege engines built by skilled designers and placed them on the towers and on the corner ramparts that could fire arrows and very large stones. His reputation spread far and wide, and he was marvelously assisted until he grew very strong.

Uzziah’s Arrogance and Apostasy^(F)

¹⁶ But after he had become strong, in his arrogance he acted corruptly and became unfaithful to the Lord his God, and he dared to enter the Lord’s Temple to burn incense on the incense altar. ¹⁷ Azariah the priest ran after him, along with 80 of the Lord’s valiant priests, ¹⁸ and they opposed King Uzziah. “Uzziah, it’s not for you to burn incense to the Lord,” they told him, “but for the priests to do, Aaron’s descendants who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary now, because you have been unfaithful and won’t receive any honor from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Uzziah flew into a rage while he held in his hand a censer to burn incense. As he got angry at the priests, leprosy broke out all over his forehead right in front of the priests beside the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple. ²⁰ So Azariah the chief priest and all the priests stared at Uzziah, who was infected with leprosy in his forehead! They all rushed at him and hurried him out of the Temple. Uzziah^[o] was in a hurry to get out anyway, because the Lord had struck him.

²¹ King Uzziah remained a leper until the day he died. Because he was a leper, he lived in a separate residence and remained disqualified to enter the Lord’s Temple. His son Jotham served in the royal palace, judging the people of the land. ²² Now the rest of Uzziah’s accomplishments, from first to last, have been recorded by Amoz’s son Isaiah the prophet. ²³ Uzziah died, as had his ancestors, and they buried him alongside his ancestors in a grave in a field that belonged to the kings, because they said, “He was a leper.” Uzziah’s^[p] son Jotham became king to replace him.

Jotham Succeeds Uzziah^(G)

27 Jotham was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zadok’s daughter Jerusha. ² He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, just as his father Uzziah had done, even though he did not enter the Temple. Nevertheless, the people continued acting corruptly.

³ Jotham^[q] constructed the Upper Gate of the Lord’s Temple and did extensive work on the wall of Ophel.^{[r] 4} He also built cities in the hill country of Judah, along with fortresses and guard towers in the forests. ⁵ He launched a military excursion against the king of the Ammonites and defeated him. As a result, that year the Ammonites paid 100 talents^[s] of silver in tribute, as well as 10,000 kors^[t] of wheat and 10,000 kors^[u] of barley. The Ammonites continued to pay this same amount in tribute over the following two years. ⁶ Jotham grew in power because he had determined to live his life in the presence of the Lord his God. ⁷ The rest of the accomplishments of Jotham’s reign, including all of his military exploits and campaigns, are recorded in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He started his reign at the age of 25 years and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹ Then Jotham died, as had his fathers, and he was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.