2 Chronicles 25:13 | New International Reader’s Version

New International Reader’s Version

Amaziah king of Judah

1 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan. She was from Jerusalem. 2 Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. But he didn’t do it with all his heart. 3 The kingdom was firmly under his control. So he put to death the officials who had murdered his father, the king. 4 But he didn’t put their children to death. He obeyed what is written in the Law, the Book of Moses. There the LORD commanded, ‘Parents must not be put to death because of what their children do. And children must not be put to death because of what their parents do. People must die because of their own sins.’ (De 24:16) 5 Amaziah called the people of Judah together. He arranged them by families under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He did it for all the people of Judah and Benjamin. Then he brought together the men who were 20 years old or more. He found out there were 300,000 men who were able to serve in the army. They could handle spears and shields. 6 He also hired 100,000 fighting men from Israel. He had to pay them almost 4 tonnes of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him. He said, ‘Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march out with you. The LORD is not with Israel. He isn’t with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Go and fight bravely in battle if you want to. But God will destroy you right in front of your enemies. God has the power to help you or destroy you.’ 9 Amaziah asked the man of God, ‘But what about all that silver I paid for these Israelite troops?’ The man of God replied, ‘The LORD can give you much more than that.’ 10 So Amaziah let the troops go who had come to him from Ephraim. He sent them home. They were very angry with Judah. They were still very angry when they went home. 11 Then Amaziah showed how strong he was. He led his army to the Valley of Salt. There he killed 10,000 men of Seir. 12 The army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. The army of Judah took them to the top of a cliff. Then they threw them down. All of them were smashed to pieces. 13 The troops Amaziah had sent back attacked some towns that belonged to Judah. Amaziah hadn’t allowed the troops to take part in the war. They attacked towns from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed 3,000 people. They carried off huge amounts of goods. 14 Amaziah returned from killing the men of Edom. He brought back the statues of the gods of Seir. He set them up as his own gods. He bowed down to them. He burned sacrifices to them. 15 The LORD was very angry with Amaziah. He sent a prophet to him. The prophet said, ‘Why do you ask the gods of those people for advice? They couldn’t even save their own people from your power!’ 16 While the prophet was still speaking, the king spoke to him. He said, ‘Did I ask you for advice? Stop! If you don’t, you will be struck down.’ So the prophet stopped. But then he said, ‘I know that God has decided to destroy you. That’s because you have worshipped other gods. You haven’t listened to my advice.’ 17 Amaziah, the king of Judah, spoke to his advisers. Then he sent a message to Jehoash, the king of Israel. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz. Jehoahaz was the son of Jehu. Amaziah dared Jehoash, ‘Come on! Let us face each other in battle!’ 18 But Jehoash, the king of Israel, answered Amaziah, the king of Judah. Jehoash said, ‘A thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree there. The thorn bush said, “Give your daughter to be married to my son.” Then a wild animal in Lebanon came along. It crushed the thorn bush by walking on it. 19 You boast that you have won the battle over Edom. You are very proud. But stay home! Why ask for trouble? Why bring yourself crashing down? Why bring Judah down with you?’ 20 But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. That’s because God had planned to hand Judah over to Jehoash. After all, they had asked the gods of Edom for advice. 21 So Jehoash, the king of Israel, attacked. He and Amaziah, the king of Judah, faced each other in battle. The battle took place at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Israel drove Judah away. Every man ran home. 23 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah at Beth Shemesh. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash brought Amaziah to Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down part of its wall. It’s the part that went from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That part of the wall was 200 metres long. 24 Jehoash took all the gold and silver. He took all the objects he found in God’s temple. Obed-Edom had been in charge of them. Jehoash also took the palace treasures and the prisoners. Then he returned to Samaria. 25 Amaziah king of Judah lived for 15 years after Jehoash king of Israel died. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz. 26 The other events of Amaziah’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Amaziah turned away from obeying the LORD. From that time on, some people made evil plans against him in Jerusalem. So he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish. There they killed him. 28 His body was brought back on a horse to Jerusalem, the City of Judah. There he was buried in the family tomb.

English Standard Version

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. (2Ki 14:1) 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart. (2Ch 25:14) 3 And as soon as the royal power was firmly his, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father. 4 But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.” (De 24:16; Jer 31:30; Eze 18:20)

Amaziah’s Victories

5 Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers’ houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those twenty years old and upward, and found that they were 300,000 choice men, fit for war, able to handle spear and shield. (Nu 1:3; 1Ch 12:8; 2Ch 11:1; 2Ch 13:3; 2Ch 17:14; 2Ch 26:13)

Nu 1:31Ch 12:82Ch 11:12Ch 13:32Ch 17:142Ch 26:13

6 He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents^[1] of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. (De 33:1) 8 But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? For God has power to help or to cast down.” (2Ch 20:6) 9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” 10 Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger. 11 But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 men of Seir. (2Ki 14:7; 2Ch 20:10) 12 The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces. 13 But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil. (2Ch 15:8; 2Ch 19:4)

Amaziah’s Idolatry

14 After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. (2Ch 25:11; 2Ch 28:23) 15 Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?” (2Ch 25:11) 16 But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.” (Jos 11:20)

Israel Defeats Amaziah

17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” (2Ki 14:8) 18 And Joash the king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, “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. (Jud 9:8) 19 You say, ‘See, I^[2] have struck down Edom,’ and your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. But now stay at home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?” (2Ch 26:16) 20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought the gods of Edom. (2Ch 25:14) 21 So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 23 And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for 400 cubits,^[3] from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. (2Ch 21:17; Ne 8:16) 24 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, in the care of Obed-edom. He seized also the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria. (1Ch 26:15) 25 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. (2Ki 14:17) 26 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? 27 From the time when he turned away from the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. 28 And they brought him upon horses, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David.^[4]