2 Chronicles 27

Jotham Becomes King of Judah

27Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother’s name was Jerusha. She was the daughter of Zadok.

²Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham didn’t enter the Lord’s temple as Uzziah had done. In spite of that, the people continued to do very sinful things.

³Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple. He did a lot of work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. ⁴He built towns in the hills of Judah. He also built forts and towers in areas that had a lot of trees in them.

⁵Jotham went to war against the king of Ammon. He won the battle over the people of Ammon. That year they paid Jotham almost four tons of silver. They paid him 62,000 bushels of wheat and 62,000 bushels of barley. They also brought him the same amount in the second and third years.

⁶Jotham became powerful. That’s because he had worshiped the Lord his God with all his heart.

⁷The other events of Jotham’s rule are written down. That includes all of his wars and the other things he did. All of those things are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years.

⁹Jotham joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz became the next king after him.