Chronological
14 During the second year of Joash (son of Joahaz, Israel’s king), Amaziah (son of Joash, Judah’s king) inherited the throne in Judah. 2 Amaziah was 25 years old when he took the throne, and he sat upon it in Jerusalem for 29 years. Amaziah’s mother was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3 Amaziah did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes, but not to the extent that his forefather David had. Amaziah was a lot more like his father, Joash, than he was like David, for he was not as devoted to the Lord as David was. 4 But the high places were not destroyed. They remained standing, and everyone continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 As soon as Amaziah inherited the throne, he crushed all the servants who participated in the assassination of his father, King Joash. 6 But he left the sons of the murderers alive because of the Eternal’s command written in Moses’ book of laws, “Fathers should not be killed because of the sins of their sons, and sons should not be killed because of the sins of their fathers. Every man is to be held accountable for his own sins.”[a]
7 Amaziah crushed 10,000 Edomites while fighting in the valley of Salt, and he won Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel. That name remains today.
8 Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, Israel’s king, who was the son of Jehoahaz (Jehu’s son).
Amaziah’s Message: Let’s see how brave you are; I challenge you to come meet me face-to-face.
Jehoash’s reply: 9 There was a thornbush in Lebanon that said to the cedar tree in Lebanon, “Hand your daughter over to my son as a wife.” But a wild animal in Lebanon walked by about that time and destroyed the thornbush.
10 You have crushed Edom, but your heart has become swollen with pride. Take pleasure in what you have already won, and delight in your home for a while. Why would you want to stir up unnecessary troubles and have yourself and Judah taste defeat?
11 But Amaziah was stubborn and did not listen to Jehoash’s advice. So Jehoash (Israel’s king) went to meet Amaziah (Judah’s king) face-to-face at Beth-shemesh, in the land of Judah. 12 Israel won the victory, and Judah was left defeated. Then both went back to their own tents. 13 Jehoash (Israel’s king) took Amaziah (Judah’s king) captive at Beth-shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. Jehoash demolished a large part of the Jerusalem Wall—from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, 600 feet in all. 14 He then took possession of all the precious valuables he could find—the gold, silver, and objects that were in the Eternal’s temple and in the king’s palace treasuries. He also took hostages and then went back to Samaria.
15 Are not the remainder of Jehoash’s deeds—his mighty actions and how he defeated Amaziah (Judah’s king)—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? 16 Jehoash left this world to sleep with his fathers and was laid to rest in Samaria with Israel’s kings. His son, Jeroboam, then inherited the throne in Israel.
17 Amaziah (Joash’s son), king of Judah was alive for 15 years after the death of Jehoash (Jehoahaz’s son), king of Israel. 18 Is not the rest of Amaziah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? 19 They plotted against him in Jerusalem, and he ran away to Lachish. But they followed after him to Lachish and killed him. 20 They brought his body back to Jerusalem on horses, and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, as was tradition. 21 Everyone in Judah raised up his 16-year-old son, Azariah, to be king. Azariah then inherited his father’s throne. 22 After his father left this world to sleep with his fathers, Azariah rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah.
23 During the 15th year of Amaziah (Joash’s son), Jeroboam (Jehoash’s son) inherited Israel’s throne in Samaria. Jeroboam’s reign lasted 41 years. 24 Jeroboam (Joash’s son) committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives. 25 He reinstated Israel’s border from the Hamath entrance to Aram all the way to the Arabah Sea. He did this exactly as the Eternal One, the True God of Israel, had said through his servant, the prophet Jonah (Amittai’s son) who was from Gath-hepher.
Several of the prophets whose writings are included in the Old Testament are active at this time. While the writings of Jonah do not relate to these events, many of the other prophets’ works do. Amos and Hosea are both prophesying to the Northern Kingdom, warning them to return to God or else their nation will be destroyed. Joel, Jeremiah, and Zephaniah are doing the same thing in the Southern Kingdom, while Isaiah and Micah really get around, prophesying to both kingdoms.
26 The Eternal One observed Israel’s intense, bitter suffering whether they were free men or slaves. There was no one who came to the aid of Israel. 27 The Eternal had not said He would erase the reputation or remembrance of Israel from under heaven, so He rescued them through Jeroboam (Joash’s son).
28 Is not the rest of Jeroboam’s story—how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel[b] through his military exploits—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? 29 Jeroboam left this world to sleep with his fathers, including Israel’s kings. His son, Zechariah, then inherited the throne.
25 Amaziah, son of Joash and Jehoaddan of Jerusalem, was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem.
Like his father Joash, Amaziah’s reign begins well but ends in intrigue and assassination.
2 He followed the Eternal, but was not completely devoted to Him for his entire life.
3 As soon as he took power in the Southern Kingdom, Amaziah solidified his throne by executing his opponents, the servants who had assassinated his father Joash. 4 But Amaziah followed Moses’ law, which the Eternal had commanded, and had mercy on their children: “Everyone is responsible for his own sins. Therefore, parents will not be killed for their children’s actions and children will not be killed for their parents’ actions.”[a]
5 Then Amaziah prepared for battle by gathering the Judahites and appointing commanders from each family in Judah and Benjamin. He took a census of the men 20 years old and older, and there were 300,000 ready to fight with spears and shields. 6 To enlarge his army, Amaziah also hired 100,000 heroic men from the Northern Kingdom for 7,500 pounds of silver. 7 But Amaziah was warned against hiring mercenaries from the Northern Kingdom by a man who followed after the True God.
Prophet of God: O king, do not let the army of Israel fight with you. The Eternal does not support the Northern Kingdom, these Ephraimites. 8 But if you do take the mercenaries with you, prepare yourself well for the battle. The True God will support your enemy rather than supporting you because God has the power to both build you up and tear you down.
Amaziah: 9 But I have already paid 7,500 pounds of silver to the Northern Kingdom’s troops. What should be done?
Follower of God: Don’t worry about the money. It is nothing compared to what the Eternal has to give you.
10 So Amaziah dismissed the Northern Kingdom’s mercenaries as the man had advised him to do, and they returned home. The mercenaries were furious at Judah because they would lose their portion of the spoils of victory, 13 so they raided the cities in Judah (from Samaria in the north to Beth-horon in the south), killing 3,000 and taking spoils.[b]
11 But Amaziah was rewarded for obeying God’s message. He strengthened himself and led only Judahite soldiers into battle at the valley of Salt. There they killed 10,000 Edomites from the city of Seir and 12 captured 10,000. The Judahites then threw the prisoners from the top of a cliff, crushing them on the rocks below.
14 Unfortunately, Amaziah did not remain faithful to God and His messages. When he returned from fighting the Edomites, he brought the gods of Seir back to Jerusalem where they worshiped them—bowing down and burning incense—as he had worshiped God.
15 Furious with Amaziah, the Eternal sent a message to the king through a prophet.
Prophet: What are you thinking? Why would you choose to follow gods that cannot save their own people from your armies after I gave you victory?
Amaziah (interrupting): 16 When did you become my advisor? Stop prophesying, or your life will be taken from you.
Prophet: I may not be one of your court advisors, but you should still listen to my counsel. If you do not, the True God will destroy you because you have worshiped other gods and ignored my warning.
17 Then Amaziah, king of Judah, listened to his royal counselors’ advice and decided to address the Northern Kingdom’s invasion of Judah. He sent a message to Joash (son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu), the king of the Northern Kingdom asking for a face-to-face meeting.
Joash’s Response: 18 The thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon: “Give your daughter to my son in marriage.” But a wild beast in Lebanon trampled the thornbush.
19 You defeated the Edomites, and now you have become haughty. For your own good, stay where you belong. Do not provoke me to destroy both you and your people, Judah.
20 But Amaziah would not listen to Joash’s warning because the True God had allowed him to become stubborn. God intended to give Joash a victory over the Southern Kingdom because they worshiped the Edomite gods. 21 Then Joash, king of the Northern Kingdom, traveled south to the interior of the Southern Kingdom to face Amaziah, king of the Southern Kingdom, at Beth-shemesh. 22 As predicted, the Northern Kingdom defeated the Southern Kingdom, and the Judahites fled to their homes. 23 Joash captured Amaziah, son of Joash who was the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh and took him to Jerusalem where the Northern forces tore down 600 feet of the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate. 24 Joash took all the gold, silver, and utensils from the True God’s temple from the service of Obed-edom. He then returned to Samaria with the temple treasures, palace treasures, and hostages.
25 Amaziah (son of Joash, king of the Southern Kingdom) lived 15 years longer than Joash (son of Jehoahaz, king of the Northern Kingdom). 26 All the events of Amaziah’s reign are included in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel, from his ascension to his assassination. 27 From the moment Amaziah stopped following the Eternal to follow the Edomite gods, the people of Jerusalem plotted against him. He fled to Lachish, where the people followed and killed him. 28 They brought his body back to Judah on horseback, where they buried him. But Amaziah was not honored in his burial. He was not laid with the former kings, but with just his ancestors in the capital city of Judah, Jerusalem.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.