UST 2 KI Chapter 14

◄ 2 KI 14 ► ║ ═ ©

14 After Jehoash son of Jehoahaz had been ruling Israel for almost two years, Amaziah son of Joash became the king of Judah. 2 He was 24 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Jehoaddin. She was from the city of Jerusalem. 3 Amaziah did many things that pleased Yahweh, but not to the extent that King David, his ancestor, had done. He did the same kind of good things that his father Joash had done. 4 However, Amaziah did not destroy the shrines on the tops of hills. The Judeans continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at those places instead of at the place that God had chosen for them in Jerusalem. 5 As soon as Amaziah was completely in control of his kingdom, he had his soldiers execute the officials who had murdered his father, King Joash. 6 But he did not tell his servants to execute those officials’ children. He obeyed what Moses wrote in the book of laws that Yahweh gave him. He wrote, “You must not execute parents for crimes that their children commit, and you must not execute children for crimes that their parents commit. You must only execute people for the sins that they themselves commit.” 7 Amaziah led his army and defeated the Edomite army in the Valley of Salt. The Judeans killed 10,000 Edomites. They captured the city of Sela. Amaziah gave that city a new name, Joktheel, and that is still its name.

8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash of Israel to tell him, “I challenge you to a battle!” 9 But in reply, King Jehoash had his messengers tell King Amaziah a story that taught a lesson. They said, “Once a little thornbush was growing in the mountains in Lebanon. It sent a message to a great cedar tree. It told the cedar that it should allow the son of the thornbush to marry its daughter. But as a wild animal in Lebanon was walking along, it stepped on the thornbush and crushed it.” 10 The messengers continued to say on behalf of Jehoash, “The meaning of my story is that you have become very proud because your army defeated the army of Edom. But you should be happy about that and not fight a further war with me. If you cause trouble by fighting against me, you will surely cause great harm to happen to you and to your people.”

11 But Amaziah did not withdraw his challenge. So Jehoash led his army to fight against the army of Amaziah. They fought a battle at the city of Beth Shemesh in Judah. 12 The Israelite army defeated the army of Judah, and the Judean soldiers ran away and went home. 13 Jehoash’s army captured King Amaziah at Beth Shemesh. Then they marched to Jerusalem and tore down the wall around the city from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That section of the wall was about 180 meters long. 14 Jehoash’s soldiers seized all the gold and silver and valuable items that were in Yahweh’s temple and that Amaziah was keeping in the royal palace. They also took some prisoners to make sure that Amaziah would not attack Israel. Then Jehoash returned to Samaria.

15 The book in which the kings of Israel recorded what happened during their reigns describes further things that Jehoash did, including more about how he and his army fought and defeated the army of King Amaziah of Judah. 16 When Jehoash died, the Israelites buried him in Samaria. That was where they had buried other kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became the next king.

17 King Amaziah of Judah lived for 15 more years after King Jehoash of Israel died. 18 The book in which the kings of Judah recorded what happened during their reigns describes further things that Amaziah did. 19 Some people in Jerusalem plotted against Amaziah, so he ran away to the city of Lachish. But those people sent men to follow him to Lachish, and those men killed him there. 20 To honor him, his officials brought his body back to Jerusalem in his own chariot. They buried him in the part of Jerusalem that people called the City of David. That was where people had also buried his ancestors. 21 Then the Judeans appointed Amaziah’s son Azariah as the next king. He became king when he was 16 years old. 22 After his father Amaziah died, Azariah led his army to recapture the city of Elath. He then fortified that city.

23 When Amaziah son of Joash had been ruling Judah for almost 15 years, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became the king of Israel. He ruled in the city of Samaria for 41 years. 24 He did many things that Yahweh had told the Israelites were evil. Jeroboam son of Nebat had sinned by making calf idols, and he made the people of Israel sin by worshiping those idols. This Jeroboam sinned in that same way, and he did not repent. 25 Jeroboam led his soldiers to reconquer much of the territory that the Israelites had previously controlled, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Sea of the Arabah in the south. That is exactly what Yahweh, the God whom the Israelites worship, promised would happen. He said that in a message he gave to the prophet Jonah son of Amittai, who came from the city of Gath Hepher. 26 Yahweh made that promise and kept it because he saw that the Israelites’ enemies were causing them to suffer greatly. He also saw that no one at all was able to rescue them. 27 But Yahweh had not said that he would destroy the Israelites completely. So he enabled King Jeroboam to rescue them.

28 The book in which the kings of Israel recorded what happened during their reigns describes further things that Jeroboam did. He was a strong king. He led his armies to recapture the territories in the areas of Damascus and Hamath that Judean kings had formerly controlled. He made them part of his kingdom of Israel. 29 When Jeroboam died, the Israelites buried him in Samaria. That was where they had buried other kings of Israel. His son Zechariah became the next king.

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UST 2 KI Chapter 14

UST 2 KI Chapter 14