2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25

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2 Kings 14

1 In the second year of the reign of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz as king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah
2 at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.
3 He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but he was not like his ancestor King David; instead, he did what his father Joash had done.
4 He did not tear down the pagan places of worship, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 As soon as Amaziah was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had killed his father, the king.
6 However, he did not kill their children but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: "Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for a crime they themselves have committed."
7 Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in Salt Valley; he captured the city of Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, the name it still has.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash of Israel, challenging him to fight.
9 But King Jehoash sent back the following reply: "Once a thorn bush on the Lebanon Mountains sent a message to a cedar: "Give your daughter in marriage to my son.' A wild animal passed by and trampled the bush down.
10 Now Amaziah, you have defeated the Edomites, and you are filled with pride. Be satisfied with your fame and stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and your people?"
11 But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Jehoash marched out with his men and fought against him at Beth Shemesh in Judah.
12 Amaziah's army was defeated, and all his soldiers fled to their homes.
13 Jehoash took Amaziah prisoner, advanced on Jerusalem, and tore down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of two hundred yards.
14 He took all the silver and gold he could find, all the Temple equipment and all the palace treasures, and carried them back to Samaria. He also took hostages with him.
15 Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in [The History of the Kings of Israel.]
16 Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.
17 King Amaziah of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.
18 Everything else that Amaziah did is recorded in [The History of the Kings of Judah.]
19 There was a plot in Jerusalem to assassinate Amaziah, so he fled to the city of Lachish, but his enemies followed him there and killed him.
20 His body was carried back to Jerusalem on a horse and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City.
21 The people of Judah then crowned his sixteen-year-old son Uzziah as king.
22 Uzziah reconquered and rebuilt Elath after his father's death.
23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah son of Joash as king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for forty-one years.
24 He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of his predecessor King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.
25 He reconquered all the territory that had belonged to Israel, from Hamath Pass in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. This was what the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised through his servant the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath Hepher.
26 The Lord saw the terrible suffering of the Israelites; there was no one at all to help them.
27 But it was not the Lord's purpose to destroy Israel completely and forever, so he rescued them through King Jeroboam II.
28 Everything else that Jeroboam II did, his brave battles, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Israel, are all recorded in [The History of the Kings of Israel.]
29 Jeroboam died and was buried in the royal tombs, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

2 Chronicles 25

1 Amaziah became king at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.
2 He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but did it reluctantly.
3 As soon as he was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had murdered his father.
4 He did not, however, execute their children, but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: "Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for crimes they themselves have committed."
5 King Amaziah organized all the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin into army units, according to the clans they belonged to, and placed officers in command of units of a thousand and units of a hundred. This included all men twenty years of age or older, 300,000 in all. They were picked troops, ready for battle, skilled in using spears and shields.
6 In addition, he hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel at a cost of about four tons of silver.
7 But a prophet went to the king and said to him, "Don't take these Israelite soldiers with you. The Lord is not with these people from the Northern Kingdom.
8 You may think that they will make you stronger in battle, but it is God who has the power to give victory or defeat, and he will let your enemies defeat you."
9 Amaziah asked the prophet, "But what about all that silver I have already paid for them?" The prophet replied, "The Lord can give you back more than that!"
10 So Amaziah sent the hired troops away and told them to go home. At this they went home, bitterly angry with the people of Judah.
11 Amaziah summoned up his courage and led his army to Salt Valley. There they fought and killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers
12 and captured another ten thousand. They took the prisoners to the top of the cliff at the city of Sela and threw them off, so that they were killed on the rocks below.
13 Meanwhile the Israelite soldiers that Amaziah had not allowed to go into battle with him attacked the Judean cities between Samaria and Beth Horon, killed three thousand men, and captured quantities of loot.
14 When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought their idols back with him, set them up, worshiped them, and burned incense to them.
15 This made the Lord angry, so he sent a prophet to Amaziah. The prophet demanded, "Why have you worshiped foreign gods that could not even save their own people from your power?"
16 "Since when," Amaziah interrupted, "have we made you adviser to the king? Stop talking, or I'll have you killed!" The prophet stopped, but not before saying, "Now I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done all this and have ignored my advice."
17 King Amaziah of Judah and his advisers plotted against Israel. He then sent a message to King Jehoash of Israel, who was the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu, challenging him to fight.
18 Jehoash sent this answer to Amaziah: "Once a thorn bush in the Lebanon Mountains sent a message to a cedar: "Give your daughter in marriage to my son.' A wild animal passed by and trampled the bush down.
19 Now Amaziah, you boast that you have defeated the Edomites, but I advise you to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and your people?"
20 But Amaziah refused to listen. It was God's will for Amaziah to be defeated, because he had worshiped the Edomite idols.
21 So King Jehoash of Israel went into battle against King Amaziah of Judah. They met at Beth Shemesh in Judah,
22 the Judean army was defeated, and the soldiers fled to their homes.
23 Jehoash captured Amaziah and took him to Jerusalem. There he tore down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of two hundred yards.
24 He took back to Samaria as loot all the gold and silver in the Temple, the Temple equipment guarded by the descendants of Obed Edom, and the palace treasures. He also took hostages with him.
25 King Amaziah of Judah outlived King Jehoash of Israel by fifteen years.
26 All the other things that Amaziah did from the beginning to the end of his reign are recorded in [The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel.]
27 Ever since the time when he rebelled against the Lord, there had been a plot against him in Jerusalem. Finally he fled to the city of Lachish, but his enemies followed him there and killed him.
28 His body was carried to Jerusalem on a horse, and he was buried in the royal tombs in David's City.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.