2 Kings 15–16

King Uzziah of Judah

15In the 27th year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah ²at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ³Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the Lord. ⁴But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. ⁵The Lord struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a house on his own, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.

⁶Everything else that Uzziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. ^7*Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground in David’s City, and his son Jotham succeeded him as king.

King Zechariah of Israel

⁸In the 38th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam II became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for six months. ⁹He, like his predecessors, sinned against the Lord. He followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. ¹⁰Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against King Zechariah, assassinated him at Ibleam,^e and succeeded him as king.

¹¹Everything else that Zechariah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

^12*So the promise was fulfilled which the Lord had made to King Jehu: “Your descendants, down to the fourth generation,^f will be kings of Israel.”

King Shallum of Israel

¹³In the 39th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for one month.

¹⁴Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah to Samaria, assassinated Shallum, and succeeded him as king. ¹⁵Everything else that Shallum did, including an account of his conspiracy, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁶As Menahem was on his way from Tirzah, he completely destroyed the city of Tappuah,^g its inhabitants, and the surrounding territory, because the city did not surrender to him. He even ripped open the bellies of all the pregnant women.

King Menahem of Israel

¹⁷In the 39th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for ten years. ¹⁸He sinned against the Lord, for until the day of his death he followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin till the day of his death. ¹⁹Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, invaded Israel, and Menahem gave him 34,000 kilogrammes of silver to gain his support in strengthening Menahem’s power over the country. ²⁰Menahem got the money from the rich men of Israel by forcing each one to contribute 50 pieces of silver. So Tiglath Pileser went back to his own country.

²¹Everything else that Menahem did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ²²He died and was buried, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.

King Pekahiah of Israel

²³In the 50th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years. ²⁴He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. ²⁵An officer of Pekahiah’s forces, Pekah son of Remaliah, plotted with 50 men from Gilead, assassinated Pekahiah in the palace’s inner fortress^h in Samaria, and succeeded him as king. ²⁶Everything else that Pekahiah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Pekah of Israel

²⁷In the 52nd year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for twenty years. ²⁸He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

²⁹It was while Pekah was king that Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor, and the territories of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, and took the people to Assyria as prisoners.

³⁰In the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah as king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah plotted against King Pekah, assassinated him, and succeeded him as king. ³¹Everything else that Pekah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Jotham of Judah

³²In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah as king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah ³³at the age of 25, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴Following the example of his father Uzziah, Jotham did what was pleasing to the Lord. ³⁵But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. It was Jotham who built the North Gate of the Temple.

³⁶Everything else that Jotham did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. ³⁷It was while he was king that the Lord first sent King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel to attack Judah. ³⁸Jotham died and was buried in the royal tombs in David’s City, and his son Ahaz succeeded him as king.

King Ahaz of Judah

16In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah as king of Israel, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah ²at the age of twenty, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not follow the good example of his ancestor King David; instead, he did what was not pleasing to the Lord his God ^3*and followed the example of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering to idols, imitating the disgusting practice of the people whom the Lord had driven out of the land as the Israelites advanced. ⁴At the pagan places of worship, on the hills, and under every shady tree, Ahaz offered sacrifices and burnt incense.

^5*King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel attacked Jerusalem and besieged it, but could not defeat Ahaz. ⁶(At the same time, the king of Edomⁱ regained control of the city of Elath, and drove out the Judeans who lived there. The Edomites settled in Elath, and still live there.) ⁷Ahaz sent men to Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, with this message: “I am your devoted servant. Come and rescue me from the kings of Syria and of Israel, who are attacking me.” ⁸Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple and the palace treasury and sent it as a present to the emperor. ⁹Tiglath Pileser, in answer to Ahaz’ plea, marched out with his army against Damascus, captured it, killed King Rezin, and took the people to Kir as prisoners.

¹⁰When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Emperor Tiglath Pileser, he saw the altar there and sent back to Uriah the priest an exact model of it, down to the smallest details. ¹¹So Uriah built an altar just like it, and finished it before Ahaz returned. ¹²On his return from Damascus, Ahaz saw that the altar was finished, ¹³so he burnt animal sacrifices and grain offerings on it, and poured a wine offering and the blood of a fellowship offering on it. ^14*The bronze altar dedicated to the Lord was between the new altar and the Temple, so Ahaz moved it to the north side of his new altar. ¹⁵Then he ordered Uriah: “Use this large altar of mine for the morning burnt offerings and the evening grain offerings, for the burnt offerings and grain offerings of the king and the people, and for the people’s wine offerings. Pour on it the blood of all the animals that are sacrificed. But keep the bronze altar for me to use for divination.” ¹⁶Uriah did as the king commanded.

^17*King Ahaz took apart the bronze carts used in the Temple and removed the basins that were on them; he also took the bronze tank from the backs of the twelve bronze bulls, and placed it on a stone foundation. ¹⁸And in order to please the Assyrian emperor, Ahaz also removed from the Temple the platform for the royal throne and closed up the king’s private entrance to the Temple.^j

¹⁹Everything else that King Ahaz did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. ^20*Ahaz died and was buried in the royal tombs in David’s City, and his son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.