¹⁷Amaziah, the king of Judah, spoke to his advisers. Then he sent a message to Jehoash, the king of Israel. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz. Jehoahaz was the son of Jehu. Amaziah dared Jehoash, “Come on. Meet me face to face in battle.”

¹⁸But Jehoash, the king of Israel, answered Amaziah, the king of Judah. He said, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree there. It said, ‘Give your daughter to be married to my son.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon came along. It walked all over the thorn bush. ¹⁹You brag that you have won the battle over Edom. You are very proud. But stay home! Why ask for trouble? Why bring yourself crashing down? Why bring Judah down with you?”

²⁰But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. That’s because God had planned to hand Judah over to Jehoash. After all, they had asked the gods of Edom for advice.

²¹So Jehoash, the king of Israel, attacked. He and Amaziah, the king of Judah, faced each other in battle. The battle took place at Beth Shemesh in Judah. ²²Israel drove Judah away. Every man ran home.

²³Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah at Beth Shemesh. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash brought Amaziah to Jerusalem. He broke down part of its wall. It’s the part that went from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That part of the wall was 600 feet long.

²⁴Jehoash took all of the gold and silver. He took all of the articles he found in God’s temple. Obed-Edom had been in charge of them. Jehoash also took the palace treasures and the prisoners. Then he returned to Samaria.

²⁵Amaziah king of Judah lived for 15 years after Jehoash king of Israel died. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz.

²⁶The other events of Amaziah’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷Amaziah turned away from following the Lord. From that time on, some people made evil plans against him in Jerusalem. So he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men to Lachish after him. There they killed him. ²⁸His body was brought back on a horse. Then he was buried in the family tomb in Jerusalem, the City of Judah.

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