^15:19Pul²⁶ king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid²⁷ him²⁸ a thousand talents²⁹ of silver to gain his support³⁰ and to solidify his control of the kingdom.³¹^15:20Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria.³² Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.

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Footnotes

26 Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-pileser III (cf. 15:29). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
27 Heb “gave.”
28 Heb “Pul.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
29 The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “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 to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75,000 pounds of silver (cf. “about seventy-four thousand pounds”); “thirty-seven tons”; “over thirty tons”; “34,000 kilogrammes.”
30 Heb “so his hands would be with him.”
31 Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”
32 Heb “and Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over the prominent men of means, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver for each man.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power. Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and stayed in the land no longer.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

King Pul of Assyria invaded the land, so Menahem gave Pul seventy-five thousand pounds of silver so that Pul would support him to strengthen his grasp on the kingdom. Then Menahem exacted twenty ounces of silver from each of the prominent men of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay there in the land.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria invaded the land. But Menahem paid him thirty-seven tons of silver to gain his support in tightening his grip on royal power. Menahem extorted the money from the rich of Israel, demanding that each of them pay fifty pieces of silver to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned from attacking Israel and did not stay in the land.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Pul 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. Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the very rich, 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.

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