The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king; and he was ruling in Jerusalem for sixteen years; and his mother's name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.
1
Jotham became king at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done; but he did not go into the Temple of the Lord. And the people still went on in their evil ways.
2
He did what was pleasing to the Lord, just as his father had done; but unlike his father he did not sin by burning incense in the Temple. The people, however, went on sinning.
3 He put up the higher doorway of the house of the Lord, and did much building on the wall of the Ophel.
3
It was Jotham who built the North Gate of the Temple and did extensive work on the city wall in the area of Jerusalem called Ophel.
4 In addition, he made towns in the hill-country of Judah, and strong buildings and towers in the woodlands.
4
In the mountains of Judah he built cities, and in the forests he built forts and towers.
5 He went to war with the king of the children of Ammon and overcame them. That year, the children of Ammon gave him a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of grain and ten thousand measures of barley. And the children of Ammon gave him the same amount the second year and the third.
5
He fought against the king of Ammon and his army and defeated them. Then he forced the Ammonites to pay him the following tribute each year for three years: four tons of silver, fifty thousand bushels of wheat, and fifty thousand bushels of barley.
6 So Jotham became strong, because in all his ways he made the Lord his guide.
6
Jotham grew powerful because he faithfully obeyed the Lord his God.
7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
7
The other events of Jotham's reign, his wars, and his policies, are all recorded in [The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.]
8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
8
Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
9 And Jotham went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body into the earth in the town of David; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.
9
He died and was buried in David's City and his son Ahaz succeeded him as king.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.