The Living Bible (122 page)

2 Kings
14

During the second year of the reign of King Joash of Israel, King Amaziah began his reign over Judah.
²
 Amaziah was twenty-five years old at the time, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. (His mother was Jehoaddin, a native of Jerusalem.)
³
 He was a good king in the Lord’s sight, though not quite like his ancestor David; but he was as good a king as his father Joash.
⁴
 However, he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills, so the people still sacrificed and burned incense there.

    
⁵
 As soon as he had a firm grip on the kingdom, he killed the men who had assassinated his father;
⁶
 but he didn’t kill their children, for the Lord had commanded through the law of Moses that fathers shall not be killed for their children, nor children for the sins of their fathers: everyone must pay the penalty for his own sins.
⁷
 Once Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in Salt Valley; he also conquered Sela and changed its name to Joktheel, as it is called to this day.

    
⁸
 One day he sent a message to King Joash of Israel (the son of Jehoahaz and the grandson of Jehu), daring him to mobilize his army and come out and fight.

    
⁹
 But King Joash replied, “The thistle of Lebanon demanded of the mighty cedar tree, ‘Give your daughter to be a wife for my son.’ But just then a wild animal passed by and stepped on the thistle and trod it into the ground!
¹⁰
 You have destroyed Edom and are very proud about it; but my advice to you is, be content with your glory and stay home! Why provoke disaster for both yourself and Judah?”

    
¹¹
 But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Joash of Israel mustered his army. The battle began at Beth-shemesh, one of the cities of Judah,
¹²
 and Judah was defeated and the army fled home.
¹³
 King Amaziah was captured, and the army of Israel marched on Jerusalem and broke down its wall from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, a distance of about six hundred feet.
¹⁴
 King Joash took many hostages and all the gold and silver from the Temple and palace treasury, also the gold cups. Then he returned to Samaria.

    
¹⁵
 The rest of the history of Joash and his war with King Amaziah of Judah are recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
¹⁶
 When Joash died, he was buried in Samaria with the other kings of Israel. And his son Jeroboam became the new king.

    
¹⁷
 Amaziah lived fifteen years longer than Joash,
¹⁸
 and the rest of his biography is recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah.
¹⁹
 There was a plot against his life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but his enemies sent assassins and killed him there.
²⁰
 His body was returned on horses, and he was buried in the royal cemetery, in the City of David section of Jerusalem.

    
²¹
 Then his son Azariah became the new king at the age of sixteen.
²²
 After his father’s death, he built Elath and restored it to Judah.

    
²³
 Meanwhile, over in Israel, Jeroboam II had become king during the fifteenth year of the reign of King Amaziah of Judah. Jeroboam’s reign lasted forty-one years.
²⁴
 But he was as evil as Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat), who had led Israel into the sin of worshiping idols.
²⁵
 Jeroboam II recovered the lost territories of Israel between Hamath and the Dead Sea, just as the Lord God of Israel had predicted through Jonah (son of Amittai) the prophet from Gathhepher.
²⁶
 For the Lord saw the bitter plight of Israel—she had no one to help her.
²⁷
 And he had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel, so he used King Jeroboam II to save her.

    
²⁸
 The rest of Jeroboam’s biography—all that he did, and his great power, and his wars, and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath (which had been captured by Judah)—is recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
²⁹
 When Jeroboam II died, he was buried with the other kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became the new king of Israel.

2 Kings
15

New king of Judah: Azariah

    
Father’s name: Amaziah, the former king

    
His age at the beginning of his reign: 16 years old

    
Length of reign: 52 years, in Jerusalem

    
Mother’s name: Jecoliah of Jerusalem

    
Reigning in Israel at that time: King Jeroboam, who had been the king there for 27 years

    
³
 Azariah was a good king, and he pleased the Lord just as his father Amaziah had.
⁴
 But like his predecessors, he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills where the people sacrificed and burned incense.
⁵
 Because of this
*
the Lord struck him with leprosy, which lasted until the day of his death; so he lived in a house by himself. And his son Jotham was the acting king.
⁶
 The rest of the history of Azariah is recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah.
⁷
 When Azariah died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Jotham became king.

    
⁸
 New king of Israel: Zechariah

    
Father’s name: Jeroboam

    
Length of reign: 6 months, in Samaria

    
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 38 years

    
⁹
 But Zechariah was an evil king in the Lord’s sight, just like his ancestors. Like Jeroboam I (the son of Nebat), he encouraged Israel in the sin of worshiping idols.
¹⁰
 Then Shallum (the son of Jabesh) conspired against him and assassinated him at Ibleam and took the crown himself.
¹¹
 The rest of the history of Zechariah’s reign is found in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
¹²
 (So the Lord’s statement to Jehu came true, that Jehu’s son, grandson, and great-grandson would be kings of Israel.
*
)

    
¹³
 New king of Israel: Shallum

    
Father’s name: Jabesh

    
Length of reign: 1 month, in Samaria

    
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Uzziah, who had been the king there for 39 years

    
¹⁴
 One month after Shallum became king, Menahem (the son of Gadi) came to Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated him and took the throne.
¹⁵
 Additional details about King Shallum and his conspiracy
*
are recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.

    
¹⁶
 Menahem destroyed the city of Tappuah and the surrounding countryside, for its citizens refused to accept him as their king; he killed the entire population and ripped open the pregnant women.

    
¹⁷
 New king of Israel: Menahem

    
Length of reign: 10 years, in Samaria

    
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 39 years

    
¹⁸
 But Menahem was an evil king. He worshiped idols, as King Jeroboam I had done so long before, and he led the people of Israel into grievous sin.
^19-20
 Then King Pul of Assyria invaded the land; but King Menahem bought him off with a gift of $2,000,000, so he turned around and returned home. Menahem extorted the money from the rich, assessing each one $2,000 in the form of a special tax.
²¹
 The rest of the history of King Menahem is written in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
²²
 When he died, his son Pekahiah became the new king.

    
²³
 New king of Israel: Pekahiah

    
Father’s name: King Menahem

    
Length of reign: 2 years, in Samaria

    
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 50 years

    
²⁴
 But Pekahiah was an evil king, and he continued the idol worship begun by Jeroboam I (son of Nebat) who led Israel down that evil trail.

    
²⁵
 Then Pekah (son of Remaliah), the commanding general of his army, conspired against him with fifty men from Gilead and assassinated him in the palace at Samaria (Argob and Arieh were also slain in the revolt). So Pekah became the new king.
²⁶
 The rest of the history of King Pekahiah is recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.

    
²⁷
 New king of Israel: Pekah

    
Father’s name: Remaliah

    
Length of reign: 20 years, in Samaria

    
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Azariah, who had been the king there for 52 years

    
²⁸
 Pekah, too, was an evil king, and he continued in the example of Jeroboam I (son of Nebat), who led all of Israel into the sin of worshiping idols.
²⁹
 It was during his reign that King Tiglath-pileser
*
led an attack against Israel. He captured the cities of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali; and he took the people away to Assyria as captives.
³⁰
 Then Hoshea (the son of Elah) plotted against Pekah and assassinated him; and he took the throne for himself.

    
New king of Israel: Hoshea

    
Reigning in Judah at that time: King Jotham (son of Uzziah), who had been the king there for 20 years

    
³¹
 The rest of the history of Pekah’s reign is recorded in
The Annals of the Kings of Israel.

    
^32-33
 New king of Judah: Jotham

    
Father’s name: King Uzziah

    
His age at the beginning of his reign: 25 years old

    
Length of reign: 16 years, in Jerusalem

    
Mother’s name: Jerusha (daughter of Zadok)

    
Reigning in Israel at that time: King Pekah (son of Remaliah), who had been the king there for 2 years

    
^34-35
 Generally speaking, Jotham was a good king. Like his father Uzziah, he followed the Lord. But he didn’t destroy the shrines on the hills where the people sacrificed and burned incense. It was during King Jotham’s reign that the upper gate of the Temple of the Lord was built.
³⁶
 The rest of Jotham’s history is written in
The Annals of the Kings of Judah.
³⁷
 In those days the Lord caused King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel to attack Judah.
³⁸
 When Jotham died he was buried with the other kings of Judah in the royal cemetery, in the City of David section of Jerusalem. Then his son Ahaz became the new king.