2 Kings 15 - Contemporary English Version (CEV)

King Azariah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 26.1-23)

15 Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah in Jeroboam's twenty-seventh year as king of Israel. ² He was only 16 years old when he became king, and he ruled 52 years from Jerusalem, which was also the hometown of his mother Jecoliah.

³ Azariah obeyed the Lord by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ But Azariah did not destroy the local shrines,^[a] and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

⁵ The Lord punished Azariah with leprosy^[b] for the rest of his life. He wasn't allowed to live in the royal palace, so his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place.

⁶ Everything else Azariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ^{7 (A)} Azariah died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jotham then became king.

King Zechariah of Israel

⁸ Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah's rule in Judah, but he ruled only six months from Samaria. ⁹ Like his ancestors, Zechariah disobeyed the Lord by following the evil ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.

¹⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh plotted against Zechariah and killed him in public.^[c] Shallum then became king. ^{11-12 (B)} So the Lord had kept his promise to Jehu that the next four kings of Israel would come from his family.^[d]

Everything else Zechariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Shallum of Israel

¹³ Shallum became king of Israel in the thirty-ninth year of Azariah's^[e] rule in Judah. But only one month after Shallum became king, ^14-16 Menahem son of Gadi came to Samaria from Tirzah and killed him. Menahem then became king. The town of Tiphsah would not surrender to him, so he destroyed it and all the surrounding towns as far as Tirzah. He killed everyone living in Tiphsah, and with his sword he even ripped open pregnant women.

Everything else Shallum did while he was king, including his plot against Zechariah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Menahem of Israel

¹⁷ Menahem became king of Israel in Azariah's thirty-ninth year as king of Judah, and he ruled Israel ten years from Samaria. ¹⁸ He constantly disobeyed the Lord by following the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.

¹⁹ During Menahem's rule, King Tiglath Pileser^[f] of Assyria invaded Israel. He agreed to help Menahem keep control of his kingdom, if Menahem would pay him over 34 tons of silver. ²⁰ So Menahem ordered every rich person in Israel to give him at least 50 pieces of silver, and he gave it all to Tiglath Pileser, who stopped his attack and left Israel.

²¹ Everything else Menahem did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ²² Menahem died, and his son Pekahiah became king.

King Pekahiah of Israel

²³ Pekahiah became king of Israel in the fiftieth year of Azariah's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria. ²⁴ He disobeyed the Lord and caused the Israelites to sin, just as Jeroboam son of Nebat had done.

²⁵ Pekah son of Remaliah was Pekahiah's chief officer, but he made plans to kill the king. So he and 50 men from Gilead broke into the strongest part of the palace in Samaria and murdered Pekahiah, together with Argob and Arieh.^[g] Pekah then became king.

²⁶ Everything else Pekahiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Pekah of Israel

²⁷ Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Azariah's fifty-second year as king of Judah, and he ruled 20 years from Samaria. ²⁸ He disobeyed the Lord and followed the evil example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.

²⁹ During Pekah's rule, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria marched into Israel. He captured the territories of Gilead and Galilee, including the towns of Ijon, Abel-Bethmaacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor, as well as the entire territory of Naphtali. Then he took Israelites from those regions to Assyria as prisoners.^[h]

³⁰ In the twentieth year of Jotham's rule in Judah, Hoshea son of Elah plotted against Pekah and murdered him. Hoshea then became king of Israel.

³¹ Everything else Pekah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Jotham of Judah

(2 Chronicles 27.1-9)

³² Jotham son of Azariah^[i] became king of Judah in the second year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ³³ Jotham was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled 16 years from Jerusalem. His mother Jerusha was the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴ Jotham followed the example of his father by obeying the Lord and doing right. ³⁵ It was Jotham who rebuilt the Upper Gate that led into the court around the Lord's temple. But the local shrines were not destroyed, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

³⁶ Everything else Jotham did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ³⁷ During his rule, the Lord let King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel start attacking Judah. ³⁸ Jotham died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.

Footnotes

1. 15.4 local shrines: See the note at 12.3.
2. 15.5 leprosy: See the note at 5.1.
3. 15.10 in public: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation “in Ibleam.”
4. 15.11,12 So the Lord … family: See 10.28-31.
5. 15.13 Azariah's: The Hebrew text has “Uzziah's,” another spelling of the name.
6. 15.19 Tiglath Pileser: The Hebrew text has “Pul,” another name for Tiglath Pileser, who ruled Assyria from 745 to 727 b.c.
7. 15.25 together with Argob and Arieh: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. 15.29 prisoners: The events in this verse probably took place around 733 b.c.
9. 15.32 Azariah: See the note at 15.13.

Cross references

1. 15.7 : Is 6.1.
2. 15.11,12 : 2 K 10.30.