15 During the 27th year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Azariah (Amaziah’s son) inherited the throne of Judah. 2 Azariah was only 16 years old when he inherited the throne, and his reign in Jerusalem lasted 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 He did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes and followed in the footsteps of his father, Amaziah.
4 But the high places remained. They were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 5 Sadly, the Eternal One afflicted the king with a skin disease until his dying day. He lived in a quarantined house so that he would not make anyone else ritually unclean; and his son, Jotham, took care of Azariah’s household and acted as judge over all the people in Judah.
6 Is not the rest of Azariah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? 7 Azariah left this world to sleep with his fathers, and his body was laid to rest with his ancestors in the city of David, as was tradition. Azariah’s son, Jotham, then inherited the throne.
8 During Azariah’s 38th year as king of Judah, Zechariah (Jeroboam’s son) inherited the throne of Israel in Samaria. His reign only lasted six months. 9 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes, just as those who reigned before him did. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives. 10 Shallum (Jabesh’s son) plotted against Zechariah and assassinated him in front of everyone. Shallum then inherited the throne.
11 Is not the rest of Zechariah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
12 This is the promise that the Eternal One had given to Jehu: “Your sons, until the fourth generation, will reign over Israel.” And that is exactly what happened.
The Eternal One keeps His promise. Four generations after Jehu ruled—Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zechariah—Jabesh’s son ends the dynasty.
13 Shallum (Jabesh’s son) took over the throne during the 39th year of Uzziah (also known as Azariah), Judah’s king. Shallum’s reign lasted one month in Samaria. 14 Menahem (Gadi’s son) arrived in Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated Shallum (Jabesh’s son). Menahem then inherited the throne. 15 Is not the rest of Shallum’s story—including the coup he planned—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
16 Menahem then attacked Tiphsah and everyone who was living there, all the way to Tirzah. He savagely attacked them because they would not let him in. He, in a nightmarish act, tore apart every pregnant woman he could find.
17 During Azariah’s 39th year as Judah’s king, Menahem (Gadi’s son) took over Israel’s throne in Samaria. His reign lasted 10 years. 18 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives.
19 Tiglath-pileser,[a] Assyria’s king, waged war against Israel, but Menahem tried to pay tribute with 37 tons of silver so that Tiglath-pileser would help make Menahem’s rule stronger and save Israel from invasion. 20 Menahem gathered the money from all the rich people in Israel. He took 20 ounces of silver from each person and gave it to the Assyrian king. After he had received all the money, the Assyrian king went back to Assyria.
Tiglath-pileser III is one of Assyria’s strongest kings. After seizing the throne during a civil war in 745 b.c., he sets out on a wildly successful campaign, enlarging Assyria’s sphere of influence from the northern part of the Northern Kingdom all the way to Babylon. As Assyria grows, its army grows because Tiglath-pileser incorporates the conquered people into his army. He cannot be stopped. He lays the groundwork for his son, Shalmaneser V, who will continue campaigning and actually conquer the Northern Kingdom, deporting Israelites to other parts of the Assyrian Empire.
21 Is not the rest of Menahem’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? 22 Menahem left this world to sleep with his fathers. Menahem’s son, Pekahiah, then inherited the throne.
23 During Azariah’s 50th year as king of Judah, Pekahiah (Menahem’s son) inherited the throne of Israel in Samaria, and his reign only lasted two years. 24 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son), causing the Israelites to live sinful lives. 25 Pekah (Remaliah’s son), one of Pekahiah’s officials, plotted against him in secret and killed him in Samaria, along with two of Pekahiah’s loyal bodyguards, Argob and Arieh. The killings took place in the palace citadel. The conspirator, Pekah, was joined by 50 Gileadites in his assassination of the king and two of his bodyguards. Pekah then took over the throne. 26 Is not the rest of Pekahiah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
27 During Azariah’s 52nd year as king of Judah, Pekah (Remaliah’s son) inherited Israel’s throne in Samaria. His reign lasted 20 years. 28 He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives.
29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, Tiglath-pileser, the Assyrian king, took possession of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all of Naphtali; and he also took the inhabitants as captives and deported them to Assyria. 30 Hoshea (Elah’s son) secretly plotted against Pekah (Remaliah’s son) and assasinated him. Hoshea then took over the throne during the 20th year of the reign of Jotham (son of Azariah who was also known as Uzziah) in Judah.
31 Is not the rest of Pekah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
32 During the second year of Pekah (Remaliah’s son) the king in Israel, Jotham (son of Azariah who was also known as Uzziah) inherited the throne of Judah. 33 Jotham was 25 years old when he inherited the throne. His reign in Jerusalem lasted 16 years. His mother was Jerusha (Zadok’s daughter). 34 He did what was good in the Eternal’s eyes and followed the example of his father, Uzziah. 35 But the high places remained, though Jotham did not support them. Sacrifices were still offered and incense was still burned there by the people. He also constructed the upper gate of the Eternal’s house.
36 Is not the rest of Jotham’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Judah’s kings? 37 During that time, the Eternal One dispatched Rezin (Aram’s king) and Pekah (Remaliah’s son) from Israel to wage war against Judah. 38 Jotham left this world to sleep with his fathers and was laid to rest in the city of David. His son, Ahaz, then inherited the throne.
Footnotes
- 15:19 Hebrew, Pul