17 Some time later, Yehudah’s King Amatsyah consulted his advisors, then sent a challenge to Yisrael’s King Yoash (son of Yehoahaz, son of Yehu), “Let’s face each other on the battlefield.” 18 But Yisrael’s King Yosash replied, “A thistle that was in Lebanon sent to a cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ but some random animal passed through the Lebanese countryside and trampled the thistle. 19 You defeated Edom and now it’s gone to your head. So stay in your chair at home and don’t get over-excited, otherwise both you and Yehudah will be toppled.”

20 But King Amatsyah took no notice, because God was planning for him to be defeated for worshipping Edom’s gods. 21 So Yisrael’s King Yoash advanced, and the two armies faced each other at Beyt-Shemesh in Yehudah, 22 and Yehudah was badly defeated by Yisrael, and all their warriors fled back home. 23 Yisrael’s King Yoash captured King Amatsyah (son of Yoash, son of Yehoahaz) at Beyt-Shemesh and took him to Yerushalem. Then he tore down Yerushalem’s wall from the Efraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section about 180m long. 24 He took all the gold and silver and other valuable items that Oved-Edom had been guarding in the temple back to Shomron (Samaria), along with any valuables from the palace and some hostages.

25 After the death of Yisrael’s King Yoash (son of Yehoahaz), Yehudah’s King Amatsyah lived for a further fifteen years. 26 The account of everything else done by Amatsyah was written in the scroll of ‘The Kings of Yehudah and Yisrael’. 27 From the time that Amatsyah had turned from following Yahweh, there was a conspiracy to assassinate him in Yerushalem, but he fled to Lakish. However, they traced him to Lakish and killed him there. 28 They used horses to carry his body back to Yerushalem, and he was buried with his ancestors in ‘The City of David’.[fn]