2 Chronicles 25-27

2 Chronicles 25

¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem.

²He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, but not with a perfect heart.

³Now it happened, when the kingdom was established to him, that he killed his servants who had killed the king his father.

⁴But he didn't put their children to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as Yahweh commanded, saying, "The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin."

⁵Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and ordered them according to their fathers' houses, under captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them three hundred thousand chosen men, able to go forth to war, who could handle spear and shield.

⁶He hired also one hundred thousand mighty men of valor out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

⁷A man of God came to him, saying, "O king, don't let the army of Israel go with you; for Yahweh is not with Israel, with all the children of Ephraim.

⁸But if you will go, take action, be strong for the battle. God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to overthrow."

⁹Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?" The man of God answered, "Yahweh is able to give you much more than this."

¹⁰Then Amaziah separated them, [to wit], the army that had come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: therefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger.

¹¹Amaziah took courage, and led forth his people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and struck of the children of Seir ten thousand.

¹²[other] ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were broken in pieces.

¹³But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell on the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to Beth Horon, and struck of them three thousand, and took much spoil.

¹⁴Now it happened, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them.

¹⁵Therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, "Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?"

¹⁶It happened, as he talked with him, that [the king] said to him, "Have we made you one of the king's counselors? Stop! Why should you be struck down?" Then the prophet stopped, and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not listened to my counsel."

¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us look one another in the face."

¹⁸Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as his wife; then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.

¹⁹You say to yourself that you have struck Edom; and your heart lifts you up to boast. Now stay at home. Why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall, even you, and Judah with you?'"

²⁰But Amaziah would not listen; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand [of their enemies], because they had sought after the gods of Edom.

²¹So Joash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

²²Judah was defeated by Israel; and they fled every man to his tent.

²³Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

²⁴[He took] all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, aren't they written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷Now from the time that Amaziah did turn away from following Yahweh they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there.

²⁸They brought him on horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

2 Chronicles 26

¹All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

²He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

³Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jechiliah, of Jerusalem.

⁴He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

⁵He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God: and as long as he sought Yahweh, God made him to prosper.

⁶He went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in [the country of] Ashdod, and among the Philistines.

⁷God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and the Meunim.

⁸The Ammonites gave tribute to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt; for he grew exceeding strong.

⁹Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning [of the wall], and fortified them.

¹⁰He built towers in the wilderness, and dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock; in the lowland also, and in the plain: [and he had] farmers and vineyard keepers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields; for he loved farming.

¹¹Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, who went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.

¹²The whole number of the heads of fathers' [houses], even the mighty men of valor, was two thousand and six hundred.

¹³Under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, who made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging.

¹⁵He made in Jerusalem engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and on the battlements, with which to shoot arrows and great stones. His name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, until he was strong.

¹⁶But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against Yahweh his God; for he went into the temple of Yahweh to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁷Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were valiant men:

¹⁸and they resisted Uzziah the king, and said to him, "It isn't for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary; for you have trespassed; neither shall it be for your honor from Yahweh God."

¹⁹Then Uzziah was angry; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke forth in his forehead before the priests in the house of Yahweh, beside the altar of incense.

²⁰Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked on him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from there; yes, himself hurried also to go out, because Yahweh had struck him.

²¹Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.

²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, "He is a leper." Jotham his son reigned in his place.

2 Chronicles 27

¹Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.

²He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done: however he didn't enter into the temple of Yahweh. The people did yet corruptly.

³He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

⁴Moreover he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

⁵He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. The children of Ammon gave him the same year one hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render to him, in the second year also, and in the third.

⁶So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Yahweh his God.

⁷Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

⁹Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.