14 In the second year of the reign of Yehoahaz’s son Yehoash over Yisrael, Amatsyah replaced his father Yoash as king of Yehudah. 2 He was twenty-five when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for twenty-nine years. (His mother’s name was Yehoaddan from Yerushalem.) 3 He did what Yahweh had said was correct behaviour, although not as thoroughly as his ancestor David—his behaviour was more like that of his father Yoash. 4 However, the hilltop shrines weren’t removed—people were still sacrificing and burning incense at them.

5 Once he was firmly established as king, Amatsyah had the servants executed who had assassinated his father Yoash,[ref] 6 but he didn’t have their sons executed, because in the scroll where Mosheh had written the laws, Yahweh had commanded, “Fathers shouldn’t be executed for what their sons do, nor should sons be executed for the crimes of their ancestors—rather an individual should only be executed for their own crime.”

7 He led the victory over ten thousand Edomites in the Salt Valley, seizing Sela in the battle and renaming it as Yokthe’el which it’s still called today.

8 Then Amatsyah sent messengers to Yisrael’s King Yehoash (the son of Yehoahaz, the son of Yehu) challenging, “Come on, let’s have it out with each other.” 9 But King Yehoash replied to Yehudah’s King Amatsyah, “The thistle that was in the Lebanon forest sent to the cedar that was in the Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But a wild animal that was in the Lebanon passed by and it trampled the thistle. 10 It’s true that you won a battle with Edom and you’re feeling encouraged. Accept that honour, but stay home now. Why would you stir up trouble only to fall again—you and all Yehudah with you?”

11 But Amatsyah wouldn’t listen so the armies of Yisrael’s King Yehoash and Yehudah’s King Amatsyah faced each other in Yehudah at Beyt-Shemesh. 12 However, Yehudah was overcome by Yisrael, and its warriors had to flee home from the battlefield. 13 So Yisrael’s King Yehoash captured Yehudah’s King Amatsyah (the son of Yehoash, the son of Ahazyah) in Beyt-Shemesh. Then he went to Yerushalem, and he broke down the city wall from the Efrayim Gate up to the Corner Gate—almost two hundred metres of it. 14 He took all the gold and silver, and all the equipment that was found in Yahweh’s temple and in the palace treasuries. Then taking some hostages as well, he returned to Shomron (Samaria).

15 Everything else that Yehoash said and did, including his battle with Yehudah’s King Amatsyah, is written in the book of the events of the kings of Yisrael. 16 Then Yehoash died and was buried in Shomron with the former kings of Yisrael, and his son Yarave’am replaced him as king.

25 Amatsyah was twenty-five when he became Yehudah’s king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Yehoaddin from Yerushalem. 2 He mostly followed Yahweh’s instructions, but not whole-heartedly.

3 Once his rule was established, he killed those of his servants who had assassinated his father Yoash. 4 However, he didn’t order their sons to be executed because he obeyed Yahweh’s instructions that had been written down by Mosheh (Moses), “Fathers mustn’t die because of what their sons did, and sons mustn’t die because of what their parents did, but each individual should be punished for their own disobedience.”[ref]

5 Then Amatsyah summoned Yehudah’s men and appointed some by their clans to be leaders of hundreds and of thousands, for all of Yehudah and Benyamin. They counted three-hundred thousand men who were twenty and over, and suitable for fighting with a spear and shield. 6 He also hired one-hundred thousand powerful warriors from Yisrael for three tonnes of silver.

7 However, a man of God came and told him, “Your majesty, don’t let Yisrael’s soldiers go with you, because Yahweh isn’t with Yisrael—those Efrayimites.[fn] 8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will cause you to be defeated by the enemy, because God has the power to help and the power to overthrow.”

9 “So what should I do about all the silver that I’ve already paid to the troops from Yisrael?” Amatsyah asked.

“Yahweh can do much more for you than that,” God’s man replied.

10 So King Amatsyah dismissed the troops from Yisrael to go home again, but they were extremely angry with Yehudah, and they got home still feeling furious.

11 Then Amatsyah took courage and led his army out to the Salt Valley where they slaughtered ten thousand Edomite soldiers. 12 Yehudah rounded up another ten thousand and herded them to the top of a cliff where they drove them over to kill them.

13 However, during that time, the warriors that Amatsyah had sent back to Yisrael, raided Yehudah’s cities all the way from Shomron (Samaria) to Beyt-Horon. They’d killed three thousand people and taken back a large amount of plunder.

14 After King Amatsyah returned from fighting the Edomites, he brought back their idols and set them up to be his gods—bowing down to them and offering sacrifices. 15 That made Yahweh very angry at Amatsyah, and he sent a prophet to tell him, “Why did you want those gods who weren’t even able to save their own people from your army?”

16 While he was still speaking, the king snapped at him, “Who asked you to be my counsellor? Stop right this minute or they’ll strike you down?”

So the prophet stopped talking, but then he added, “I know that God has decided to destroy you because you’ve done that, and because you didn’t listen to my advice.”