Beginning

Amaziah Begins Well

25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan from Jerusalem. ² Now he did what was right in the eyes of Adonai, but not wholeheartedly. ³ Once he had the kingdom firmly secured under him, he executed his courtiers who had assassinated his father the king. ⁴ He did not put their children to death, but acted according to what is written in the Torah, in the book of Moses, which Adonai commanded saying,

“Parents should not die for the children, neither should the children die for the parents, but every person should die for his own sin.”

⁵ Amaziah gathered together the people of Judah and assigned them according to their clans to officers of thousands and officers of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those from 20 years old and upward, and found 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war, able to handle spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired 100,000 valiant warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Adonai is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. ⁸ For if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down.”

⁹ But Amaziah said to the man of God, “And what is to be done about the 100 talents that I have given to the Israelite troops?”

The man of God answered, “Adonai is able to give you much more than that.”

¹⁰ So, Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim to go back to their homes. Their anger burned greatly against Judah and they returned home in a rage.

¹¹ Amaziah then took courage and leading his army, marched to the Valley of Salt. He struck down 10,000 men of Seir. ¹² The army 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 everyone fell to their death.

¹³ Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and not allowed to go with him to battle raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon. They struck down 3,000 of them and took considerable spoils.

Idolatry and Defiance

¹⁴ Now after Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he had the gods of the men of Seir brought and installed as his gods. He prostrated himself before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ The anger of Adonai burned against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, who said to him, “Why have you sought after the gods of the people who could not deliver their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ But while he was still speaking to him, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you a counselor to the king? Stop! Why should you be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped after he said, “Now I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have acted this way and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷ Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent this message to Joash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

¹⁸ Joash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah saying: “The thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trambled the thorn bush. ¹⁹ You say, ‘Behold, I have defeated Edom.’ So now your heart has become arrogant and proud. Stay home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah with you?”

²⁰ However, Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God in order that He might deliver them into the hand of Joash because they had sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah confronted one another at Beth-shemesh, which belonged to Judah. ²² Then Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his tent. ²³ King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah—son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz—in Beth-shemesh. Then Joash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim gate to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the House of God with Obed-edom, together with the treasuries of the king’s palace and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Amaziah the son of King Joash of Judah lived 15 years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, the first and the last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following Adonai, they conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish and put him to death there. ²⁸ Then they brought him back on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Uzziah Strengthens Judah’s Defenses

26 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was 16 years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. ³ Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what was right in the eyes of Adonai just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the visions of God. As long as he sought Adonai, God made him prosper.

⁶ He went out and fought the Philistines and breached the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod. He built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs who dwelt in Gur-Baal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread abroad even to the border of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them. ¹⁰ He also built towers in the wilderness and dug out many cisterns because he had much livestock, and he had farmers in the foothills and in the plain and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fertile fields—for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Uzziah also had a well-trained army ready to go out to battle by divisions, according to the numbers mustered by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under Hananiah, one of the king’s chieftains. ¹² The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600, ¹³ and under their command was an army of 307,500 trained for war with mighty power to support the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men to be used on the towers and on the corners to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. So his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped until he became strong.

Uzziah Usurps the Kohanim

¹⁶ But when he became strong, his heart grew so haughty that he acted corruptly. For he trespassed against Adonai his God by entering into the Temple of Adonai to burn incense upon the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Then Azariah the kohen with 80 valiant kohanim of Adonai followed him in. ¹⁸ They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Adonai, but for the kohanim, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the Sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. You will have no honor from Adonai Elohim.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the kohanim tza’arat broke out on his forehead right in front of the kohanim in the House of Adonai, beside the incense altar. ²⁰ When Azariah the chief kohen and all the other kohanim stared at him, behold, his forehead had tza’arat! So they rushed him out of there. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out because Adonai had smitten him.

²¹ King Uzziah had tza’arat until the day of his death. He lived in a separate house with tza’arat, for he was cut off from the House of Adonai. Jotham his son was in charge of the king’s house and governed the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from beginning to end, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz. ²³ So Uzziah slept with his fathers and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial that belonged to the kings, for they said: “He had tza’arat.” Then Jotham his son became king in his place.

Good King Jotham Prospers

27 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ² He did what was right in the eyes of Adonai, just as his father Uzziah had done. But unlike his father, he did not enter into the Temple of Adonai. The people, however, acted corruptly. ³ He rebuilt the upper gate of the House of Adonai and did extensive building on the wall of Ophel. ⁴ He also built towns in the Judean hills and forts and towers in the forests.

⁵ Jotham also fought the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. That year the Ammonites paid him 100 talents of silver, 10,000 measures of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years.

⁶ Jotham became powerful because he ordered his ways before Adonai his God. ⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. ⁹ Jotham slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David. Ahaz his son became king in his place.