^25:1Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.¹ His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. ^25:2He did what the Lord approved,² but not with wholehearted devotion.³

^25:3When he had secured control of the kingdom,⁴ he executed the servants who had assassinated his father.⁵^25:4However, he did not execute their sons. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses,⁶ “Fathers must not be executed for what their sons do,⁷ and sons must not be executed for what their fathers do.⁸ A man must be executed only for his own sin.”⁹

^25:5Amaziah assembled the people of Judah¹⁰ and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age¹¹ equipped with spears and shields.¹²^25:6He hired 100,000 Israelite warriors for a hundred talents¹³ of silver.

^25:7But a prophet¹⁴ visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites.¹⁵^25:8Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you¹⁶ before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.”¹⁷^25:9Amaziah asked the prophet:¹⁸ “But what should I do about the hundred talents of silver I paid the Israelite troops?” The prophet¹⁹ replied, “The Lord is capable of giving you more than that.” ^25:10So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home.²⁰ They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed. ^25:11Amaziah boldly led his army to the Valley of Salt,²¹ where he defeated²² 10,000 Edomites.²³^25:12The men²⁴ of Judah captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them over.²⁵ All the captives²⁶ fell to their death.²⁷^25:13Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle²⁸ raided²⁹ the cities of Judah from Samaria³⁰ to Beth Horon. They killed³¹ 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.

^25:14When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people³² of Seir and made them his personal gods.³³ He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices. ^25:15The Lord was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why are you following³⁴ these gods³⁵ that could not deliver their own people from your power?”³⁶^25:16While he was speaking, Amaziah³⁷ said to him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!”³⁸ So the prophet stopped, but added, “I know that the Lord has decided³⁹ to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice.”

^25:17After King Amaziah of Judah consulted with his advisers,⁴⁰ he sent this message to the king of Israel, Joash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, “Come, face me on the battlefield.”⁴¹^25:18King Joash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn bush.⁴²^25:19You defeated Edom⁴³ and it has gone to your head.⁴⁴ Gloat over your success,⁴⁵ but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?”⁴⁶

^25:20But Amaziah did not heed the warning,⁴⁷ for God wanted to hand them over to Joash because they followed the gods of Edom.⁴⁸^25:21So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other on the battlefield⁴⁹ in Beth Shemesh of Judah. ^25:22Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home.⁵⁰^25:23King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash son of Jehoahaz, in Beth Shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. He broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—a distance of about six hundred feet.⁵¹^25:24He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God’s temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

^25:25King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Joash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. ^25:26The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.⁵²^25:27From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem,⁵³ so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him⁵⁴ and they killed him there. ^25:28His body was carried back by horses,⁵⁵ and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors⁵⁶ in the City of David.⁵⁷

Uzziah’s Reign

^26:1All the people of Judah took Uzziah,¹ who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. ^26:2Uzziah² built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah³ had passed away.⁴

^26:3Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem.⁵ His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. ^26:4He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done.⁶^26:5He followed⁷ God during the lifetime of⁸ Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed⁹ the Lord, God caused him to succeed.¹⁰

^26:6Uzziah attacked¹¹ the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory.¹²^26:7God helped him in his campaigns¹³ against the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. ^26:8The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached¹⁴ the border of Egypt, for he grew in power.

^26:9Uzziah built and fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and at the Angle.¹⁵^26:10He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the lowlands¹⁶ and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel,¹⁷ for he loved agriculture.¹⁸

^26:11Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official. ^26:12The total number of family leaders who led warriors was 2,600. ^26:13They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend¹⁹ the king against his enemies. ^26:14Uzziah supplied shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. ^26:15In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful.²⁰

^26:16But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him.²¹ He disobeyed²² the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. ^26:17Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. ^26:18They confronted²³ King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed²⁴ and the Lord God will not honor you!” ^26:19Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving²⁵ at the priests, a skin disease²⁶ appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. ^26:20When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at²⁷ him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king²⁸ himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. ^26:21King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters,²⁹ afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

^26:22The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.³⁰^26:23Uzziah passed away³¹ and was buried near his ancestors³² in a cemetery³³ belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.)³⁴ His son Jotham replaced him as king.

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Footnotes

1 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
2 Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”
3 Heb “a complete heart.”
4 Heb “when the kingdom was secure upon him.”
5 Heb “he killed his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”
6 Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the Lord commanded, saying.”
7 Heb “on account of sons.”
8 Heb “on account of fathers.”
9 This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.
10 Heb “Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy here for the people of Judah.
11 Heb “young men going out to war.”
12 Heb “holding a spear and a shield.”
13 The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
14 Heb “man of God.”
15 Heb “Israel, all the sons of Ephraim.”
16 Heb “cause you to stumble.”
17 Heb “to cause to stumble.”
18 Heb “said to the man of God.”
19 Heb “man of God.”
20 Heb “and Amaziah separated them, the troops who came to him from Ephraim, to go to their place.”
21 Heb “and Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people and went to the Valley of Salt.”
22 Or “struck down.”
23 Heb “sons of Seir.”
24 Heb “sons.”
25 Heb “and threw them from the top of the cliff.”
26 Heb “all of them.”
27 Heb “smashed in pieces.”
28 Heb “had sent back from going with him to the battle.”
29 Heb “stripped.”
30 For location see ; ; ; ; .
31 Heb “struck down.”
32 Heb “sons.”
33 Heb “caused them to stand for him as gods.”
34 Heb “seeking,” perhaps in the sense of “consulting [an oracle from].”
35 Heb “the gods of the people.”
36 Heb “hand.”
37 Heb “he”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 Heb “Stop yourself! Why should they strike you down?”
39 The verb יָעַץ (ya’ats, “has decided”) is from the same root as יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets, “counselor”) in v. 16 and עֵצָה (’etsah, “advice”) later in v. 16. The wordplay highlights the appropriate nature of the divine punishment. Amaziah rejected the counsel of God’s prophet; now he would be the victim of God’s “counsel.”
40 The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
41 Heb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here not to a visit but to meeting in battle. See v. 21.
42 The thorn bush in the allegory is Judah. Amaziah’s success had deceived him into thinking he was on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he was not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
43 Heb “you say [to yourself], ‘look, you have defeated Edom.’ ”
44 Heb “and your heart is lifted up.”
45 Heb “to glorify.”
46 Heb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”
47 Heb “did not listen.”
48 Heb “because it was from God in order to give them into the hand because they sought the gods of Edom.”
49 Heb “looked at each other [in the] face.” See the note on the expression “Come on, face me on the battlefield” in v. .
50 Heb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”
51 Heb “400 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the distance would have been about 600 feet (180 m).
52 Heb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, the former and the latter, are they not—behold, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
53 Heb “and they conspired against him [with] a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”
54 Heb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”
55 Heb “and they carried him on horses.”
56 Heb “fathers.”
57 The Hebrew text has “Judah,” but some medieval read “David,” as does the parallel passage in 2 Kgs 14:20. The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
1 The parallel account in 2 Kgs 15:1–8 has the variant spelling “Azariah.”
2 Heb “he”; the referent (Uzziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 Heb “after the king”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 “slept with his fathers.”
5 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
6 Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”
7 Heb “sought.”
8 Heb “in the days of.”
9 Heb “in the days of his seeking.”
10 Or “prosper.”
11 Heb “went out and fought.”
12 Heb “in Ashdod and among the Philistines.”
13 The words “in his campaigns” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons
14 Heb “and his name went to.”
15 On the meaning of the Hebrew word מִקְצוֹעַ (miqtsoa’), see עַ(וֹ)מִקְץֹ. The term probably refers to an “angle” or “corner” somewhere on the eastern wall of Jerusalem.
16 Heb “Shephelah.”
17 Heb “workers and vinedressers in the hills and in Carmel.” The words “he had” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 Heb “for a lover of the ground he [was].”
19 Heb “help.”
20 Heb “and his name went out to a distant place, for he did extraordinarily to be helped until he was strong.”
21 Heb “his heart was high [i.e., proud] to destroy.”
22 Or “was unfaithful to.”
23 Heb “stood against.”
24 Or “been unfaithful.”
25 Heb “angry.”
26 Traditionally “leprosy,” but this was probably a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy (technically known today as Hansen’s disease). See 2 Kgs 5:1.
27 Heb “turned toward.”
28 Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 The precise meaning of בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhafshiyt, “house of [?]”) is uncertain. , , all have “in a separate house”; has “in his own house … relieved of all duties.” For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
30 Heb “As for the rest of the events of Uzziah, the former and the latter, Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, recorded.”
31 Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
32 Heb “fathers.”
33 Heb “a field of burial.”
34 Heb “for they said, ‘He had a skin disease.’ ”