2 Chronicles 25 - Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Amaziah, King of Judah

25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin. Jehoaddin was from Jerusalem. 2 Amaziah did what the Lord wanted him to do, but not with all his heart. 3 He became a strong king and killed the officials who had killed his father the king. 4 But Amaziah obeyed the law written in the Book of Moses and did not kill the official’s children. The Lord commanded, “Parents must not be put to death for something their children did, and children must not be put to death for something their parents did. People should be put to death only for what they themselves did.”[a]

5 Amaziah gathered the people of Judah together. He grouped them by families and he put generals and captains in charge of these groups. The leaders were in charge of all the soldiers from Judah and Benjamin. All the men who were chosen to be soldiers were 20 years old and older. In all there were 300,000 skilled soldiers ready to fight with spears and shields. 6 Amaziah also hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel. He paid 3 3/4 tons[b] of silver to hire these soldiers. 7 But a man of God came to Amaziah and said, “King, don’t let the army of Israel go with you. The Lord is not with Israel or the people of Ephraim. 8 Maybe you will make yourself strong and ready for war, but God can help you win or help you lose.” 9 Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what about the money I already paid to the Israelite army?” The man of God answered, “The Lord has plenty. He can give you much more than that.”

10 So Amaziah sent the Israelite army back home to Ephraim. These men were very angry with the king and the people of Judah. They went back home very angry.

11 Then Amaziah became very brave and led his army to the Salt Valley in the country of Edom. There his army killed 10,000 men from Seir.[c] 12 They also captured 10,000 men from Seir and took them to the top of a cliff. Then the army of Judah threw them from the top of the cliff while they were still alive and their bodies were broken on the rocks below.

13 Meanwhile, the Israelite army was attacking towns in Judah. They attacked the towns from Beth Horon all the way to Samaria. They killed 3000 people and took many valuable things. They were angry because Amaziah didn’t let them join him in the war.

14 Amaziah came home after he defeated the Edomites. He brought the idols that the people of Seir worshiped. He started to worship those idols. He bowed down in front of them and burned incense to them. 15 The Lord was very angry with Amaziah, so he sent a prophet to him. The prophet said, “Amaziah, why have you worshiped the gods those people worship? Those gods could not even save their own people from you!”

16 When the prophet spoke, Amaziah said to the prophet, “We never made you an advisor to the king. Be quiet! If you don’t be quiet, you will be killed.” The prophet became quiet, but then said, “God has decided to destroy you because you did this and didn’t listen to my advice.”

17 King Amaziah of Judah talked with his advisors. Then he sent a message to King Jehoash of Israel. Amaziah said to Jehoash, “Let’s meet face to face.” Jehoash was Jehoahaz’s son. Jehoahaz was Jehu’s son.

18 Then Jehoash sent his answer to Amaziah. Jehoash was the king of Israel and Amaziah was the king of Judah. Jehoash told this story: “A little thornbush of Lebanon sent a message to a big cedar tree of Lebanon. The little thornbush said, ‘Let your daughter marry my son.’ But a wild animal came and walked over the thornbush and destroyed it. 19 You say to yourself, ‘I have defeated Edom!’ You are proud and you brag. But you should stay at home. There is no need for you to get into trouble. If you fight me, you and Judah will be destroyed.”

20 But Amaziah refused to listen. God made this happen. God planned to let Israel defeat Judah, because the people of Judah followed the gods the people of Edom followed. 21 So King Jehoash of Israel met King Amaziah of Judah face to face at the town of Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Israel defeated Judah. Every man of Judah ran away to his home. 23 Jehoash captured Amaziah at Beth Shemesh and took him to Jerusalem. Amaziah was the son of Joash, and Joash was the son of Jehoahaz. Jehoash tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a section about 600 feet[d] long. 24 He took the gold and silver and all the other things in God’s Temple that Obed Edom was responsible for. Jehoash also took the treasures from the king’s palace and some people as hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.

25 Amaziah lived 15 years after Jehoash died. Amaziah’s father was King Joash of Judah. 26 Everything else Amaziah did, from beginning to end, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 When Amaziah stopped obeying the Lord, the people in Jerusalem made plans against Amaziah. He ran away to the town of Lachish. But the people sent men to Lachish and they killed Amaziah there. 28 Then they carried his body on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the City of Judah.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 25:4 Parents … did See Deut. 24:16.
  2. 2 Chronicles 25:6 3 3/4 tons Literally, “100 talents” (3450 kg).
  3. 2 Chronicles 25:11 Seir Or “Edom,” a country east of Judah.
  4. 2 Chronicles 25:23 600 feet Literally, “400 cubits” (207.33 m).

You Might Also Like:

2 Chronicles 25 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

25 A son of twenty and five years hath Amaziah reigned, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Jehoaddan of Jerusalem, 2 and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah -- only, not with a perfect heart. 3 And it cometh to pass, when the kingdo...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

25 Amaziah was of five and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem. 2 And he did good in the sight of the Lord, nevertheless not in perfect heart. (And he did good before the Lord, but not with a perf...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - World English Bible (WEB)

25 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. 2 He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, but not with a perfect heart. 3 Now when the kingdom was established to him, he killed his serv...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - The Voice (VOICE)

25 Amaziah, son of Joash and Jehoaddan of Jerusalem, was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. Like his father Joash, Amaziah’s reign begins well but ends in intrigue and assassination.2 He followed the Eternal, but was not completely devoted to Him for his entire l...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Amaziah Begins Well25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan from Jerusalem. 2 Now he did what was right in the eyes of Adonai, but not wholeheartedly. 3 Once he had the kingdom firmly secured under him, he executed his court...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Reign of Amaziah25 Amazi′ah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jeho-ad′dan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a blameless heart. 3 And as soon as the royal power was fir...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Reign of Amaziah25 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.(A)2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a true heart.(B)3 As soon as the royal power was firmly in his ha...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Amaziah Rules in Judah25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin[a] from Jerusalem. 2 Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly. 3 When Amaziah was well established as king, he exec...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New Life Version (NLV)

Amaziah Rules Judah25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a whole heart. 3 As soon as the nation was under his rule, ...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Amaziah Reigns in Judah(A)25 Amaziah (B)was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, (C)but not with a loyal heart. 3 (D)Now it happened, as soon as t...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Amaziah king of Judah25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly. 3 After the kingdom was firmly in his ...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New International Version (NIV)

Amaziah King of Judah(A)(B)(C)25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.(D) 3 After the kingdom was firmly i...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Amaziah King of Judah25 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 contro...
Read More

2 Chronicles 25 - New English Translation (NET)

Amaziah’s Reign25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother[a] was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what the Lord approved,[b] but not with wholehearted devotion.[c] 3 When he had secured control of the kingdom...
Read More