Beginning

25 Amaziah was of five and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem.

² And he did good in the sight of the Lord, nevertheless not in perfect heart. (And he did good before the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.)

³ And when he saw the empire strengthened to himself, he strangled the servants that killed the king, his father; (And once he saw himself confirmed, or established, in power, he strangled the servants who had killed his father the king;)

⁴ but he killed not the sons of them; as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, [The] Fathers shall not be slain for the sons, neither the sons for their fathers; but each man shall die in, or for, his own sin.

⁵ Therefore Amaziah gathered together Judah, and ordained them by families, and tribunes, and centurions, in all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years and above, and he found thirty thousand of able young men, that went out to battle, and held spear and shield. (And so Amaziah gathered the men of Judah together, and ordained them by families, under tribunes, and centurions, in all Judah and Benjamin; and he counted them from twenty years of age and older, and he found thirty thousand able young men, who went out to battle, and held a spear and shield.)

⁶ Also for meed, he hired of Israel an hundred thousand of strong men, for an hundred talents of silver, that they should fight against the sons of Edom. (And for reward, or for money, he hired out of Israel a hundred thousand strong men, for a hundred talents of silver, to fight against the Edomites.)

⁷ Forsooth a man of God came to him, and said, A! king, the host of Israel go not out with thee, for the Lord is not with Israel, and with all the sons of Ephraim; (But a man of God came to him, and said, O! king, do not let Israel’s army go out with thee, for the Lord is not with Israel, and with all these Ephraimites;)

⁸ for if thou guessest that battles stand in the might of an host, the Lord shall make thee to be overcome of thine enemies, forsooth it is of God for to help, and to turn men into flight. (for if thou thinkest that battles stand, or fall, by the strength of an army, then the Lord shall make thee to be overcome by thy enemies; for it is of God to help thee, or to turn men to flight.)

⁹ And Amaziah said to the man of God, What then shall be done of the hundred talents, which I gave to the knights of Israel? And the man of God answered to him, The Lord hath, whereof he may yield to thee much more things than these.

¹⁰ Therefore Amaziah separated the host that came to him from Ephraim, that it should turn again into his place; and they were wroth greatly against Judah, and they turned again into their country. (And so Amaziah separated out the army that came to him from Ephraim, and told them to return home; and they were greatly angered against the people of Judah, but they returned to their own country.)

¹¹ And Amaziah led out trustily his people, and went into the valley of (the) makings of salt, and he killed of the sons of Seir ten thousand. (And then Amaziah trustily led out his people, and went into the Salt Valley, and he killed ten thousand of the sons of Seir there.)

¹² And the sons of Judah took (an)other ten thousand of men, and brought (them) to the high scarp of a stone; and they cast them down from the highest part into a pit; which all brake (and they were all killed there).

¹³ And that host that Amaziah had sent again, that it should not go with him to battle, was spread abroad in the cities of Judah from Samaria unto Bethhoron; and after (that) the host of Israel had slain three thousand of Judah, it took away a great prey (they took away a great deal of prey).

¹⁴ And Amaziah, after the slaying of Idumeans, and after that he had brought thence with him the gods of the sons of Seir, he ordained them to be into gods to himself, and he worshipped them, and burnt incense to them. (And Amaziah, after the slaughter of the Edomites, brought back from there the gods of the sons of Seir with him, and he ordained them to be his gods, and he worshipped them, and burned incense to them.)

¹⁵ Wherefore the Lord was wroth against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, that said to him, Why worshippest thou gods which have not delivered their (own) people from thine hand?

¹⁶ And when the prophet spake these things, Amaziah answered to him, Whether thou art a counsellor of the king? cease thou, lest peradventure I slay thee. And the prophet went away from him, and said, I know, that the Lord hath thought to slay thee (And as the prophet went away from him, he said, I know that the Lord hath decided to kill thee); for thou hast done this evil, and furthermore thou assentedest not to my counsel.

¹⁷ Therefore Amaziah, the king of Judah, when he had taken a full evil counsel, sent to the king of Israel, Jehoash^[a], the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, and said, Come thou, and see we us together. (And so Amaziah, the king of Judah, when he had taken very evil counsel, sent to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, and said, Come thou, and see we each other in battle.)

¹⁸ And Jehoash, the king of Israel, sent messengers (back) to him, and said (mystically), A thistle, that is in the Lebanon, sent to a cedar tree of the Lebanon, and said, Give thy daughter (as a) wife to my son; and lo! [the] beasts that were in the wood of the Lebanon went and defouled the thistle.

¹⁹ Thou saidest, I have smitten Edom, and therefore thine heart is raised into pride (Thou saidest, I myself have struck down Edom, and so thy heart is raised up in pride); sit thou still in thine house; why stirrest thou (up) evil against thyself, (so) that thou fall, and Judah with thee?

²⁰ (But) Amaziah would not hear this, for it was the will of the Lord, that he should be betaken into the hands of his enemies, for the gods of Edom which he worshipped (because he and the people of Judah worshipped the gods of Edom).

²¹ Therefore Jehoash, king of Israel, ascended, and they saw themselves together. Soothly Amaziah, the king of Judah, was in Bethshemesh of Judah; (And so Jehoash, the king of Israel, went forth, and they saw each other in battle. And he and Amaziah, the king of Judah, were in Bethshemesh of Judah;)

²² and Judah felled down before Israel, and fled into his tabernacles. (and the men of Judah fell down before the men of Israel, and they fled back to their tents.)

²³ And [Jehoash,] the king of Israel, took in Bethshemesh Amaziah, the king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz^[b], and brought him into Jerusalem; and he destroyed the walls thereof from the gate of Ephraim to the gate of the corner, by four hundred cubits (in length). (And Jehoash, the king of Israel, the son of Jehoahaz, captured Amaziah, the king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he destroyed its walls from the Ephraim Gate unto the Corner Gate, a distance of four hundred cubits.)

²⁴ And he led again into Samaria all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that he found in the house of the Lord, and at Obededom, in the treasuries also of the king’s house, also and the sons of (the) hostages. (And he took back to Samaria all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that he found in the House of the Lord, under the care, or the protection, of Obededom, and also the treasures from the king’s house, and the hostages as well.)

²⁵ And Amaziah, king of Judah, the son of Joash, lived fifteen years after that Jehoash, king of Israel, the son of Jehoahaz, was dead (died).

²⁶ Soothly the residue of the former and the last words of Amaziah, be written in the book of [the] kings of Judah and of Israel. (And the rest of the first and the last deeds of Amaziah, be written in The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel.)

²⁷ And after that he had gone away from the Lord, they set to him treasons in Jerusalem; and when he had fled to Lachish, they sent thither, and killed him there; (And after that Amaziah had gone away from the Lord, they set treasons against him in Jerusalem; and when he fled to Lachish, they followed him there, and killed him there;)

²⁸ and they brought him again upon horses (and they brought back his body on a horse), and buried him with his fathers in the city of David.

26 Forsooth all the people of Judah made Uzziah^[c], his son, of sixteen years age, king for his father Amaziah. (Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, or Azariah, Amaziah’s son, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father.)

² He builded Eloth (And he rebuilt Eloth), and restored it to the lordship of Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was of sixteen years (Uzziah was sixteen years old), when he began to reign; and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Jecoliah, of Jerusalem.

⁴ And he did that, that was rightful in the sight of the Lord, by all things which Amaziah, his father, had done.

⁵ And he sought the Lord in the days of Zechariah, understanding and seeing God (who had understanding in the visions of God); and when he sought God, God ruled him in all things.

⁶ And he went out, and fought against (the) Philistines, and destroyed the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he builded strong places in Ashdod, and in Philistines (and he built fortified cities in Ashdod, and among the Philistines).

⁷ And the Lord helped him both against Philistines, and against Arabians that dwelled in Gurbaal, and against Ammonites. (And the Lord helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabs who lived in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites/and the Mehunims.)

⁸ [And] Ammonites paid gifts to Uzziah (And the Ammonites paid tribute, or taxes, to Uzziah), and his name was published unto the entering of Egypt for his oft victories.

⁹ And Uzziah builded towers in Jerusalem over the gate of the corner, and over the gate of the valley, and other towers in the same side of the wall (and other towers on the same side of the wall); and he made those steadfast, or strong.

¹⁰ Also he builded towers in the wilderness, and digged full many cisterns; for he had many beasts, as well in the field places, as in the vastness of desert (for he had many beasts, in the fields, and in the vast wilderness). Also he had vineries, and tillers of vines in the hills/in the great mountain(s), and in Carmel; for he was a man given to earth-tilling.

¹¹ And (he had) the host of his warriors, that went forth to battles, under the hand of Jeiel, (the) scribe, and of Maaseiah, the teacher, and under the hand of Hananiah, that was of the dukes of the king. (And he had the army of his warriors, who went forth to battle, all listed, or registered, by Jeiel, the writer, or the royal secretary, and Maaseiah, the teacher, and Hananiah, who was one of the king’s leaders;)

¹² and all the number of (the) princes, by their families, was of strong men two thousand and six hundred. (and the number of all the leaders of his fighting men, by their families, was two thousand and six hundred.)

¹³ And under them was all the host, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that were able to battle (who were well able for battle), and fought for the king against (his) adversaries.

¹⁴ And Uzziah made ready to them, that is, to all the host, shields, and spears, and basinets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. (And Uzziah had made for all his army, many shields, and spears, helmets, and breastplates, and bows, and slings to throw stones.)

¹⁵ And he made in Jerusalem engines of diverse kind, which he set in towers, and in the corners of walls, that those should cast out arrows and great stones (from which they would send out arrows and great stones); and his name went out far, for the Lord helped him, and had made him strong.

¹⁶ But when he was made strong, his heart was raised up into his perishing; and he despised the Lord his God (for he defied the Lord his God); and he entered into the temple of the Lord, and would burn incense upon the altar of incense.

¹⁷ And anon Azariah, the priest, entered after him, and with him sixty priests of the Lord, men full noble; (And at once, the High Priest Azariah went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord, all very noble men;)

¹⁸ which against-stood the king, and said to him, Uzziah, it is not of thine office, that thou burn incense to the Lord, but of the priests of the Lord, that is, the sons of Aaron, that be hallowed to such service; go thou out of the saintuary; and despise thou not God; for this thing shall not be areckoned of the Lord God to thee into glory. (who stood against the king, and said to him, Uzziah, it is not thy duty to burn incense to the Lord, but only the duty of the priests of the Lord, that is, the sons of Aaron, who be consecrated for such service; go thou out of the sanctuary; offend thou not; for this thing shall not be counted as glory for thee by the Lord God.)

¹⁹ And Uzziah was wroth, and he held in his hand the censer for to offer incense, and he menaced the priests; and anon leprosy was sprung forth in his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, upon the altar of incense. (And Uzziah was angry, and he held in his hand the censer to offer incense, and he threatened the priests; and at once leprosy sprung out on his forehead, in front of the priests in the House of the Lord, as they stood by the altar of incense.)

²⁰ And when Azariah, the bishop, had beheld him, and also all the other priests, they saw leprosy in his forehead, and anon they putted the king out of the temple; but also he was afeared, and hasted to go out; for he feeled anon the vengeance of the Lord. (And when the High Priest Azariah, and all the other priests, beheld him, and they saw that leprosy had sprung out on his forehead, they put the king out of the Temple at once; and he was afraid, and hastened to go out; for he felt at once the vengeance of the Lord.)

²¹ Therefore king Uzziah was leprous unto the day of his death, and dwelled in an house by itself (and lived in a house set apart), and he was full of leprosy; for which he was cast out of the house of the Lord. And Jotham, his son, governed the house of the king, and deemed the people of the land.

²² And Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote the residue of the former and of the last words of Uzziah. (And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, wrote down the rest of the first and the last deeds of Uzziah.)

²³ And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried not him in the field of the kings’ sepulchres, for he was leprous; and Jotham, his son, reigned for him. (And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in a field, and not in the tombs of the kings, for he was leprous; and his son Jotham reigned for him.)

27 Jotham was of five and twenty years (Jotham was twenty-five years old), when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.

² He did that, that was rightful before the Lord, by all things which Uzziah, his father, had done; except that he entered not into the temple of the Lord, and the people trespassed yet. (And he did what was right before the Lord, as by all the things which his father Uzziah had done; but he did not enter into the Temple of the Lord like his father did, and the people still continued to trespass.)

³ He builded the high gate of the house of the Lord, and he builded many things in the wall of Ophel; (He built the Upper Gate of the House of the Lord, and he built many things on the wall of Ophel;)

⁴ also he builded cities in the hills of Judah, and he builded castles and towers in forests. (and he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers in the forests.)

⁵ He fought against the king of the sons of Ammon, and overcame him; and the sons of Ammon gave to him in that time an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of barley, and so many of wheat; the sons of Ammon gave these things to him in the second, and the third years. (He fought against the king of the Ammonites, and overcame him; and the Ammonites gave him at that time a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of barley, and as many cors of wheat; the Ammonites gave these things to him in the second, and the third years.)

⁶ And Jotham was made strong, for he had (ad)dressed his ways before the Lord his God. (And Jotham was made strong, for he had directed his ways before the Lord his God, that is, he obeyed him.)

⁷ Forsooth the residue of [the] words of Jotham, and all his battles, and works, be written in the book of the kings of Israel and of Judah. (And the rest of the deeds of Jotham, and all his battles, and works, be written in The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel.)

⁸ He was of five and twenty years (He was twenty-five years old), when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

⁹ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Ahaz, his son, reigned for him.