2 Kings 14–15

Amaziah Becomes King of Judah

14Amaziah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the second year that Jehoash was king of Israel. He was the son of Jehoahaz. Amaziah was the son of Joash. ²Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin. She was from Jerusalem.

³Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But he didn’t do what King David had done. He always followed the example of his father Joash. ⁴The high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁵The kingdom was firmly under his control. So he put to death the officials who had murdered his father, the king.

⁶But he didn’t put their children to death. He obeyed what is written in the Scroll of the Law of Moses. There the Lord commanded, “Parents must not be put to death because of what their children do. And children must not be put to death because of what their parents do. People must die because of their own sins.”

⁷Amaziah won the battle over 10,000 men of Edom. It happened in the Valley of Salt. During the battle he captured the town of Sela. He called it Joktheel. That’s the name it still has to this very day.

⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the king of Israel. He was the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. The message said, “Come on. Meet me face to face in battle.”

⁹But 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. ¹⁰It’s true that you have won the battle over Edom. So you are proud. Enjoy your success while you can. But stay home and enjoy it! Why ask for trouble? Why bring yourself crashing down? Why bring Judah down with you?”

¹¹But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. So 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.

¹²Israel drove Judah away. Every man ran home. ¹³Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah at Beth Shemesh. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash went 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.

¹⁴Jehoash took all of the gold, silver and articles that were in the Lord’s temple. He also took all of those same kinds of things that were among the treasures of the royal palace. And he took the prisoners. Then he returned to Samaria.

¹⁵The other events of the rule of Jehoash are written down. Everything he did and accomplished is written down. That includes his war against Amaziah, the king of Judah. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

¹⁶Jehoash joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in Samaria in the royal tombs of Israel. His son Jeroboam became the next king after him.

¹⁷Amaziah 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. ¹⁸The other events of Amaziah’s rule are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

¹⁹Some people made evil plans against Amaziah in Jerusalem. So he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men to Lachish after him. There they killed him. ²⁰His body was brought back on a horse. Then he was buried in the family tomb in Jerusalem, the City of David.

²¹All of the people of Judah made Uzziah king. He was 16 years old. They made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²²Uzziah rebuilt Elath. He brought it under Judah’s control again. He did it after Amaziah joined the members of his family who had already died.

Jeroboam II Becomes King of Israel

²³Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 15th year that Amaziah was king of Judah. Jeroboam ruled for 41 years. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Jeroboam was the son of Jehoash.

²⁴Jeroboam did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t turn away from any of the sins the earlier Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. That Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

²⁵Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash, made the borders of Israel the same as they were before. They reached from Lebo Hamath all the way to the Dead Sea. That’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, had said would happen. He had spoken that message through his servant Jonah. The prophet Jonah was the son of Amittai. Jonah was from Gath Hepher.

²⁶The Lord had seen how much everyone in Israel was suffering. It didn’t matter whether they were slaves or free. They didn’t have anyone to help them. ²⁷The Lord hadn’t said he would wipe out Israel’s name from the earth. So he saved them by using the powerful hand of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.

²⁸The other events of the rule of Jeroboam are written down. Everything he did is written down. What he and his army accomplished is written down. That includes how he brought Damascus and Hamath back under Israel’s control. Damascus and Hamath had belonged to the territory of Yaudi. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

²⁹Jeroboam joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the royal tombs of Israel. His son Zechariah became the next king after him.

Uzziah Becomes King of Judah

15Uzziah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the 27th year that Jeroboam was king of Israel. Uzziah was the son of Amaziah. ²Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah. She was from Jerusalem.

³Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.

⁴But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁵The Lord caused King Uzziah to suffer from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace. Jotham ruled over the people of the land.

⁶The other events of the rule of Uzziah are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

⁷Uzziah joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried near them in the City of David. His son Jotham became the next king after him.

Zechariah Becomes King of Israel

⁸Zechariah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 38th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Zechariah ruled for six months. He was the son of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash.

⁹Zechariah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did what the kings of Israel before him had done. He didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

¹⁰Shallum made evil plans against Zechariah. He attacked Zechariah in front of the people and killed him. Then he became the next king after him. Shallum was the son of Jabesh.

¹¹The other events of the rule of Zechariah are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ¹²That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message to Jehu. It had said, “Your sons after you will sit on the throne of Israel. They will rule until the time of your children’s grandchildren.”

Shallum Becomes King of Israel

¹³Shallum became king of Israel. It was in the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Shallum ruled in Samaria for one month. He was the son of Jabesh.

¹⁴Menahem went from Tirzah up to Samaria. There he attacked Shallum, the son of Jabesh. He killed him and became the next king after him. Menahem was the son of Gadi.

¹⁵The other events of Shallum’s rule are written down. The evil things he planned are written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

¹⁶At that time Menahem started out from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He attacked everyone in the city and the area around it. That’s because they refused to open their gates for him. He destroyed Tiphsah. He ripped open all of their pregnant women.

Menahem Becomes King of Israel

¹⁷Menahem became king of Israel. It was in the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Menahem ruled in Samaria for ten years. He was the son of Gadi.

¹⁸Menahem did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. During his entire rule he didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

¹⁹Then Tiglath-Pileser marched into the land of Israel. He was king of Assyria. Menahem gave him 37 tons of silver to get his help. He wanted to make his control over the kingdom stronger. ²⁰Menahem forced Israel to give him that money. Every wealthy person had to give him 20 ounces of silver. All of it went to the king of Assyria. So he pulled his troops back. He didn’t stay in the land anymore.

²¹The other events of the rule of Menahem are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

²²Menahem joined the members of his family who had already died. His son Pekahiah became the next king after him.

Pekahiah Becomes King of Israel

²³Pekahiah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 50th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Pekahiah ruled for two years. He was the son of Menahem.

²⁴Pekahiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

²⁵One of Pekahiah’s chief officers was Pekah. He was the son of Remaliah. Pekah made evil plans against Pekahiah. He took 50 men of Gilead with him and killed Pekahiah. He also killed Argob and Arieh. He killed all of them in the safest place in the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah. He became the…