2 Kings 14–15

Amaziah Reigns in Judah; Jeroboam II in Israel

14In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah began to reign. ²He was twenty-five years old^a when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. ³He did right in the eyes of Yahweh, only not as David his ancestor;^b as all that Jehoash his father had done, he did. ⁴Only the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and offering incense on the high places.

⁵It happened that when the kingdom was firmly in his hand, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king. ⁶But the sons of the killers he did not kill, as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which Yahweh had commanded, saying, “Fathers should not be killed because of children, and children should not be killed because of fathers; but a man should die because of his own sin.” ⁷He also killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and he seized Sela in the battle, and he called its name Jokteel, until this day.

⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, “Come let us meet face-to-face.”^{c 9}So Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah, saying, “The thornbush which is in Lebanon sent to the cedar which is in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife,’ but an animal of the field which is in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thornbush. ¹⁰You have indeed defeated Edom and your heart is lifted up; enjoy the honor and stay home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall and Judah with you?”

¹¹But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel went up and they met face-to-face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-Shemesh which belongs to Judah. ¹²Judah was defeated before Israel and they fled, each to his tent. ¹³Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-Shemesh. Then they came to Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim up to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits! ¹⁴He also took all of the gold and silver and all the vessels found in the temple of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the palace of the king, as well as the hostages;^d then he returned to Samaria.

¹⁵Now the remainder of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his powerful deeds, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶Then Jehoash slept with his ancestors^e and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

Azariah Succeeds Amaziah in Jerusalem; Zechariah Succeeds Jeroboam II in Samaria

¹⁷Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ¹⁸The remainder of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹They conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. ²⁰Then they carried him on the horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors^f in the city of David. ²¹All of the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old,^g and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²²He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his ancestors.^h

²³In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, reigning forty-one years. ²⁴But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin. ²⁵He restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-Hamath up to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, who was from Gath-Hepher. ²⁶For Yahweh saw that the misery of Israel was very bitter, whether bond or free, but there was no helper for Israel. ²⁷Yahweh did not decree to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash.

²⁸Now the remainder of the acts of Jeroboam, all that he did, his powerful deeds, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath of Judah to Israel, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ²⁹So Jeroboam slept with his ancestorsⁱ the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became king in his place.

The Acts of Azariah (Uzziah) in Judah

15In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. ²He was sixteen years old^a when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ³He did right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done. ⁴Only he did not remove the high places; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ⁵Yahweh struck the king, and he was infected with a skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in a separate house, while Jotham the son of the king was over the house, governing the people of the land. ⁶The remainder of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? ⁷So Azariah slept with his ancestors,^b and they buried him with his ancestors^c in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place.

Zechariah in Israel

⁸In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. ⁹He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh as his ancestors^d had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin. ¹⁰Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, struck him in front of the people, killed him, and reigned in his place. ¹¹Now the remainder of the acts of Zechariah, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel. ¹²This is the word of Yahweh that he spoke to Jehu, saying, “Sons of a fourth generation shall sit for you on the throne of Israel,” and it was so.

Shallum Reigns only a Month in Israel

¹³Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned a full month^e in Samaria. ¹⁴Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah, and he came to Samaria and struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him. Then he became king in place of him. ¹⁵Now the remainder of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy that he conspired; look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶At that time Menahem destroyed Tiphsah, all who were in it, and all its territory from Tirzah, because it had not opened to him, so he destroyed it and ripped open all of its pregnant women.

Menahem Reigns in Israel

¹⁷In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel for ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not depart all of his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

¹⁹Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, so Menahem gave a thousand talents of silver to Pul so that his hand would be with him to strengthen his hold on the kingdom.^{f 20}Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the very rich,^g to give to the king of Assyria fifty shekels of silver for each one. Then the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land. ²¹Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ²²So Menahem slept with his ancestors,^h and Pekahiah his son became king in his place.

Pekahiah Reigns in Israel

²³In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria for two years. ²⁴But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin. ²⁵Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, so he attacked him in Samaria in the citadel fortress of the palace of the king, with Argob and Arieh. With him also were fifty men from the children of the Gileadites, and he killed him and became king in his place. ²⁶Now the remainder of the acts of Pekahiah and all that he did, look, they are written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.

Pekah Reigns in Israel

²⁷In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria for twenty years. ²⁸He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

²⁹In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-Beth-Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, the Gilead, the Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali; then he deported them to Assyria. ³⁰Hoshea the son of Elah conspired against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and he attacked and killed him. He reigned in place of him in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. ³¹Now the remainder of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, look, they are written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.

Jotham Reigns in Judah

³²In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. ³³He was twenty-five years oldⁱ when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Uzziah his father had done. ³⁵Only…