Howbeit the high places were not taken away Though he first did that which was right before God; nor did his father take them away; see ( 2 Kings 12:3 ) .
2
He was twenty-five years old when he became king and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddin. She was from Jerusalem.
3
He lived the way God wanted and did the right thing. But he didn't come up to the standards of his ancestor David; instead he lived pretty much as his father Joash had;
4
the local sex-and-religion shrines continued to stay in business with people frequenting them.
5
When he had the affairs of the kingdom well in hand, he executed the palace guard that had assassinated his father the king.
6
But he didn't kill the sons of the assassins. He was obedient to what God commanded, written in the Word revealed to Moses, that parents shouldn't be executed for their children's sins, nor children for those of their parents. We each pay personally for our sins.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.