2 Chronicles 25–26

Amaziah ^awas twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not ^bwith a perfect heart. ³Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. ⁴But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

⁵Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them ^cfrom twenty years old and above, and found them ^dthree hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could ^ehandle spear and shield. ⁶He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. ⁷But there came ^fa man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. ⁸But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God ^gshall make thee fall before the enemy: for ^hGod hath power to help, and to ^gcast down. ⁹And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this. ¹⁰Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. ¹¹And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and ⁱwent to the valley of salt, and smote of ^kthe children of Seir ten thousand. ¹²And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of ^lthe rock, and cast them down from the top of ^lthe rock, that they all were broken in pieces. ¹³But the soldiers of the army ^mwhich Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, ⁿfell upon the cities of Judah, from ^oSamaria even unto ^pBeth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

¹⁴Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that ^qhe brought the gods of ^kthe children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. ¹⁵Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, ^rwhich could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? ¹⁶And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; ^swhy shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that ^tGod hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

¹⁷Then ^uAmaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face. ¹⁸And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. ¹⁹Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? ²⁰But Amaziah would not hear; for ^tit came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because ^wthey sought after the gods of Edom. ²¹So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. ²²And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. ²³And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of ^xJehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the ^ygate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. ²⁴And ^zhe took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with ^aObed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

^25bAnd Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, ^cfirst and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there. ²⁸And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

XXVI.Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. ²He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

^3aSixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ^4aAnd he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did. ⁵And ^bhe sought God in the days of Zechariah, who ^chad understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. ⁶And he went forth and ^dwarred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of ^eGath, and the wall of ^fJabneh, and the wall of ^gAshdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. ⁷And God helped him against the ^hPhilistines, and against the ^hArabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the ⁱMehunims. ⁸And the ^kAmmonites gave ^lgifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt: for he strengthened himself exceedingly. ⁹Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the ^mcorner gate, and at the ⁿvalley gate, and at ^othe turning of the wall, and fortified them. ¹⁰Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in ^pthe plains: ^qhusbandmen also, and ^qvinedressers in the mountains, and in ^rCarmel: for he loved husbandry. ¹¹Moreover Uzziah had a host of fighting men, that went out to war by ^sbands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ^truler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹²The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred. ¹³And under their hand was an army, ^uthree hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host ^xshields, and ^xspears, and ^yhelmets, and ^yzhabergeons, and ^xbows, and slings to cast stones. ¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem ^aengines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the ^bbulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

¹⁶But ^cwhen he was strong, ^dhis heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into ^ethe temple of the Lord ^fto burn incense upon ^ethe altar of incense. ¹⁷And ^gAzariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were ^hvaliant men: ¹⁸and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, ⁱIt pertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the ^kpriests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. ¹⁹Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, ^lthe leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. ²⁰And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they ^mthrust him out from thence; yea, himself ⁿhasted also to go out, because ^othe Lord had smitten him. ²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. ²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, ^pfirst and last, did ^qIsaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. ²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers ^rin the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

XXVII.