Amaziah of Judah
25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but not with a completely committed heart.
3 As soon as the royal power was firmly in his possession, he put to death the officials who had assassinated his father the king. 4 But he did not put their children to death, because of what is written in the law in the Book of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, “Fathers are not to be put to death on account of their sons, and sons are not to be put to death on account of their fathers, but each person will die for his own sin.”[a]
War Against Edom
5 Amaziah then assembled Judah. He organized the troops on the basis of their fathers’ houses, under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all of Judah and Benjamin. He took a count of all of those who were twenty years old and older. He found three hundred thousand men capable of going to war, able to handle spear and shield.
6 He also hired from Israel one hundred thousand powerful warriors for one hundred talents of silver.
7 A man of God came to him, saying, “O King, the army of Israel must not go along with you because the Lord is not with Israel. He is not with any of these descendants of Ephraim. 8 Even if you go and you take action, and you are strong for battle, God will defeat you in the face of the enemy, because God has power both to help and to defeat.”
9 Amaziah said to the man of God, “What am I to do about the hundred talents I gave to the army of Israel?”
The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give to you much more than that.”
10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim. They were told to return home, but they were very angry against Judah. They returned to their homes, burning with anger.
11 But Amaziah took courage. He led his troops out to the Valley of Salt, where he struck down ten thousand men of Seir. 12 The men of Judah captured ten thousand of them alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down from the top of the cliff. All of them were dashed to pieces.
13 But the men from the army, whom Amaziah had not allowed to go with him to battle, attacked the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people from those cities. They also carried off a lot of plunder.
14 After Amaziah came back from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought with him the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his own gods. He worshipped them and made offerings to them.
15 The Lord was angry with Amaziah, so he sent a prophet to him, who said to him, “Why are you seeking the gods of another people, gods who did not deliver their own people from your hand?”
16 But while he was speaking to him, the king said to him, “Have we made you an advisor to the king? Stop! Why should you be struck down?”
So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this, and you have not listened to my advice.”
Israel Defeats Judah
17 After consulting with his advisors, Amaziah king of Judah sent a challenge to Joash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come. We will confront each other face-to-face.”
18 Joash king of Israel sent a response to Amaziah king of Judah:
A thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon: “Give your daughter to my son as his wife.” But a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush.
19 You have congratulated yourself for striking down Edom, and your heart has given you confidence to boast. But now stay home. Why should you stir up trouble? You will fall, and Judah will fall with you.
20 But Amaziah did not listen, because this was from God, in order that he might hand them over to Israel, because they had sought the gods of Edom.
21 Joash king of Israel attacked, so he and Amaziah king of Judah confronted each other face-to-face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man fled to his tent.
23 At Beth Shemesh Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and brought him to Jerusalem. Joash broke down six hundred feet of the wall of Jerusalem, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 24 Joash took all the gold and silver, all the articles that he found with Obed Edom in the House of God and in the treasuries of the king’s palace. He also took Amaziah’s sons as hostages and returned to Samaria.
Amaziah’s Death
25 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.
26 The rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from the first to the last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel?
27 After Amaziah had turned away from the Lord, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. 28 They brought him back on horses and buried him with his fathers in the City of Judah.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 25:4 This law is recorded in Deuteronomy 24:16.