Chronological
Amaziah Begins His Rule in Judah
14 Amaziah son of King Joash of Judah became king in the second year that Jehoash son of Jehoahaz was king of Israel. 2 Amaziah was 25 years old when he began to rule. He ruled 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. 3 Amaziah did what the Lord said was right, but he did not follow God completely like David his ancestor. Amaziah did everything that Joash his father had done. 4 He did not destroy the high places. The people still sacrificed and burned incense at those places of worship.
5 At the time that Amaziah had strong control of the kingdom, he killed the officers who had killed his father. 6 But he did not kill the children of the murderers because of the rules written in the book, The Law of Moses. The Lord gave this command in there: “Parents must not be put to death for something their children did. And children must not be put to death for something their parents did. People should be put to death only for what that they themselves did.”[a]
7 Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. In war, Amaziah took Sela and called it “Joktheel.” It is still called “Joktheel” today.
Amaziah Wants War Against Jehoash
8 Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of King Jehu of Israel. Amaziah’s message said, “Come on, let’s meet together face to face and fight.”
9 King Jehoash of Israel sent an answer to King Amaziah of Judah. Jehoash said, “The thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar tree in Lebanon. It said, ‘Give your daughter for my son to marry.’ But a wild animal from Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thornbush. 10 True, you have defeated Edom. But you have become proud because of your victory over Edom. But stay at home and brag! Don’t make trouble for yourself. If you do this, you will fall, and Judah will fall with you!”
11 But Amaziah would not listen to Jehoash’s warning. So King Jehoash of Israel went to fight against King Amaziah of Judah at Beth Shemesh in Judah.[b] 12 Israel defeated Judah. Every man of Judah ran home. 13 At Beth Shemesh, King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash took Amaziah to Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, about 600 feet.[c] 14 Then Jehoash took all the gold and silver and all the dishes in the Lord’s Temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace. Jehoash also took people to be his prisoners. Then he went back to Samaria.
15 All the great things that Jehoash did, including how he fought against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 16 Jehoash died and was buried with his ancestors. He was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Jehoash’s son Jeroboam became the new king after him.
The Death of Amaziah
17 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived 15 years after the death of King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 18 All the great things that Amaziah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah. 19 The people made a plan against Amaziah in Jerusalem, so he ran away to Lachish. But the people sent men after Amaziah to Lachish, and they killed him there. 20 The people brought Amaziah’s body back on horses. He was buried at Jerusalem with his ancestors in the City of David.
Azariah Begins His Rule Over Judah
21 Then all the people of Judah made Azariah the new king. Azariah was 16 years old. 22 So King Amaziah died and was buried with his ancestors. Then Azariah rebuilt Elath and got it back for Judah.
Jeroboam II Begins His Rule Over Israel
23 King Jeroboam son of Jehoash of Israel began to rule in Samaria during the 15th year that Amaziah son of Joash was king of Judah. Jeroboam ruled 41 years. 24 Jeroboam did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin. 25 Jeroboam took back Israel’s land, which ran from the Lebo Hamath to the Arabah Sea.[d] This happened as the Lord of Israel had told his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 26 The Lord saw that all the Israelites, both slaves and free men, had many troubles. No one was left who could help Israel. 27 The Lord did not say that he would take away the name of Israel from the world. So he used Jeroboam son of Jehoash to save the Israelites.
28 All the great things that Jeroboam did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. This includes the story about Jeroboam winning back Damascus and Hamath for Israel. (These cities had belonged to Judah.) 29 Jeroboam died and was buried with his ancestors, the kings of Israel. Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became the new king after him.
Amaziah, King of Judah
25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin. Jehoaddin was from Jerusalem. 2 Amaziah did what the Lord wanted him to do, but not with all his heart. 3 He became a strong king and killed the officials who had killed his father the king. 4 But Amaziah obeyed the law written in the Book of Moses and did not kill the official’s children. The Lord commanded, “Parents must not be put to death for something their children did, and children must not be put to death for something their parents did. People should be put to death only for what they themselves did.”[a]
5 Amaziah gathered the people of Judah together. He grouped them by families and he put generals and captains in charge of these groups. The leaders were in charge of all the soldiers from Judah and Benjamin. All the men who were chosen to be soldiers were 20 years old and older. In all there were 300,000 skilled soldiers ready to fight with spears and shields. 6 Amaziah also hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel. He paid 3 3/4 tons[b] of silver to hire these soldiers. 7 But a man of God came to Amaziah and said, “King, don’t let the army of Israel go with you. The Lord is not with Israel or the people of Ephraim. 8 Maybe you will make yourself strong and ready for war, but God can help you win or help you lose.” 9 Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what about the money I already paid to the Israelite army?” The man of God answered, “The Lord has plenty. He can give you much more than that.”
10 So Amaziah sent the Israelite army back home to Ephraim. These men were very angry with the king and the people of Judah. They went back home very angry.
11 Then Amaziah became very brave and led his army to the Salt Valley in the country of Edom. There his army killed 10,000 men from Seir.[c] 12 They also captured 10,000 men from Seir and took them to the top of a cliff. Then the army of Judah threw them from the top of the cliff while they were still alive and their bodies were broken on the rocks below.
13 Meanwhile, the Israelite army was attacking towns in Judah. They attacked the towns from Beth Horon all the way to Samaria. They killed 3000 people and took many valuable things. They were angry because Amaziah didn’t let them join him in the war.
14 Amaziah came home after he defeated the Edomites. He brought the idols that the people of Seir worshiped. He started to worship those idols. He bowed down in front of them and burned incense to them. 15 The Lord was very angry with Amaziah, so he sent a prophet to him. The prophet said, “Amaziah, why have you worshiped the gods those people worship? Those gods could not even save their own people from you!”
16 When the prophet spoke, Amaziah said to the prophet, “We never made you an advisor to the king. Be quiet! If you don’t be quiet, you will be killed.” The prophet became quiet, but then said, “God has decided to destroy you because you did this and didn’t listen to my advice.”
17 King Amaziah of Judah talked with his advisors. Then he sent a message to King Jehoash of Israel. Amaziah said to Jehoash, “Let’s meet face to face.” Jehoash was Jehoahaz’s son. Jehoahaz was Jehu’s son.
18 Then Jehoash sent his answer to Amaziah. Jehoash was the king of Israel and Amaziah was the king of Judah. Jehoash told this story: “A little thornbush of Lebanon sent a message to a big cedar tree of Lebanon. The little thornbush said, ‘Let your daughter marry my son.’ But a wild animal came and walked over the thornbush and destroyed it. 19 You say to yourself, ‘I have defeated Edom!’ You are proud and you brag. But you should stay at home. There is no need for you to get into trouble. If you fight me, you and Judah will be destroyed.”
20 But Amaziah refused to listen. God made this happen. God planned to let Israel defeat Judah, because the people of Judah followed the gods the people of Edom followed. 21 So King Jehoash of Israel met King Amaziah of Judah face to face at the town of Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Israel defeated Judah. Every man of Judah ran away to his home. 23 Jehoash captured Amaziah at Beth Shemesh and took him to Jerusalem. Amaziah was the son of Joash, and Joash was the son of Jehoahaz. Jehoash tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a section about 600 feet[d] long. 24 He took the gold and silver and all the other things in God’s Temple that Obed Edom was responsible for. Jehoash also took the treasures from the king’s palace and some people as hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.
25 Amaziah lived 15 years after Jehoash died. Amaziah’s father was King Joash of Judah. 26 Everything else Amaziah did, from beginning to end, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 When Amaziah stopped obeying the Lord, the people in Jerusalem made plans against Amaziah. He ran away to the town of Lachish. But the people sent men to Lachish and they killed Amaziah there. 28 Then they carried his body on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the City of Judah.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International