2 Kings 14:1-22

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

1 1In the 2second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, 3Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.
3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done.
4 4But the high places were not removed; 5the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.
5 And as soon as the royal power was 6firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants 7who had struck down the king his father.
6 But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, 8"Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin."
7 9He struck down ten thousand Edomites in 10the Valley of Salt and took 11Sela by storm, and called it 12Joktheel, which is its name to this day.
8 13Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash[a] the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, 14let us look one another in the face."
9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, 15"A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for a wife,' and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle.
10 You have indeed 16struck down Edom, 17and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?"
11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah 18faced one another in battle at 19Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, 20and every man fled to his home.
13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,[b] from 21the Ephraim Gate to 22the Corner Gate.
14 And he seized 23all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.
15 24Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.
17 25Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
18 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to 26Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there.
20 And they brought him on horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.
22 He built 27Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.

Cross References 27

  • 1. For ver. 1-6, see 2 Chronicles 25:1-4
  • 2. [2 Kings 13:10]
  • 3. 2 Kings 12:21
  • 4. See 2 Kings 12:3
  • 5. [2 Kings 16:4]
  • 6. [2 Kings 15:19]
  • 7. 2 Kings 12:20
  • 8. Deuteronomy 24:16; [Jeremiah 31:30; Ezekiel 18:4, 20]
  • 9. 2 Chronicles 25:11
  • 10. 2 Samuel 8:13; 1 Chronicles 18:12; See Psalms 60
  • 11. Isaiah 16:1
  • 12. [Joshua 15:38]
  • 13. For ver. 8-14, see 2 Chronicles 25:17-24
  • 14. [2 Kings 23:29]
  • 15. [Judges 9:8-15]
  • 16. ver. 7
  • 17. Deuteronomy 8:14; 2 Chronicles 26:16; 2 Chronicles 32:25; Ezek. 28:2, 5, 17
  • 18. [See ver. 8 above]
  • 19. Joshua 15:10
  • 20. See 1 Samuel 4:10
  • 21. Nehemiah 8:16; Nehemiah 12:39
  • 22. 2 Chronicles 25:23; 2 Chronicles 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; Zechariah 14:10
  • 23. 2 Kings 12:18; 1 Kings 7:51
  • 24. 2 Kings 13:12, 13
  • 25. For ver. 17-22, see 2 Chronicles 25:25 - 26:2
  • 26. See Joshua 10:3
  • 27. 2 Kings 16:6; Deuteronomy 2:8; [2 Chronicles 8:17; 2 Chronicles 26:2]

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Jehoash is another spelling for Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in 13:9, 12-14; also verses 9, 11-16
  • [b]. A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.