2 Chronicles 25 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Amaziah Rules in Judah

(2Ki 14:1–6 )

2Ch 25:1Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin[fn] from Jerusalem.

2Ch 25:2

2Ch 25:2Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.

2Ch 25:3

2Ch 25:3When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father.

2Ch 25:4

2Ch 25:4However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.”[fn]

(2Ki 14:7 )

2Ch 25:5

2Ch 25:5Then Amaziah organized the army, assigning generals and captains[fn] for all Judah and Benjamin. He took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 select troops, twenty years old and older, all trained in the use of spear and shield.

2Ch 25:6

2Ch 25:6He also paid about 7,500 pounds[fn] of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel.

2Ch 25:7

2Ch 25:7But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, do not hire troops from Israel, for the LORD is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim!

2Ch 25:8

2Ch 25:8If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up.”

2Ch 25:9

2Ch 25:9Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?”
The man of God replied, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this!”

2Ch 25:10

2Ch 25:10So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back to Ephraim. This made them very angry with Judah, and they returned home in a great rage.

2Ch 25:11

2Ch 25:11Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where they killed 10,000 Edomite troops from Seir.

2Ch 25:12

2Ch 25:12They captured another 10,000 and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off, dashing them to pieces on the rocks below.

2Ch 25:13

2Ch 25:13Meanwhile, the hired troops that Amaziah had sent home raided several of the towns of Judah between Samaria and Beth-horon. They killed 3,000 people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

2Ch 25:14

2Ch 25:14When King Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought with him idols taken from the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down in front of them, and offered sacrifices to them!

2Ch 25:15

2Ch 25:15This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, “Why do you turn to gods who could not even save their own people from you?”

2Ch 25:16

2Ch 25:16But the king interrupted him and said, “Since when have I made you the king’s counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!”
So the prophet stopped with this warning: “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel.”

(2Ki 14:8–14 )

2Ch 25:17

2Ch 25:17After consulting with his advisers, King Amaziah of Judah sent this challenge to Israel’s king Jehoash,[fn] the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu: “Come and meet me in battle!”[fn]

2Ch 25:18

2Ch 25:18But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story: “Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it!

2Ch 25:19

2Ch 25:19“You are saying, ‘I have defeated Edom,’ and you are very proud of it. But my advice is to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?”

2Ch 25:20

2Ch 25:20But Amaziah refused to listen, for God was determined to destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom.

2Ch 25:21

2Ch 25:21So King Jehoash of Israel mobilized his army against King Amaziah of Judah. The two armies drew up their battle lines at Beth-shemesh in Judah.

2Ch 25:22

2Ch 25:22Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home.

2Ch 25:23

2Ch 25:23King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah’s king, Amaziah son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he brought him to Jerusalem, where he demolished 600 feet[fn] of Jerusalem’s wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.

2Ch 25:24

2Ch 25:24He carried off all the gold and silver and all the articles from the Temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-edom. He also seized the treasures of the royal palace, along with hostages, and then returned to Samaria.

(2Ki 14:17–20 )

2Ch 25:25

2Ch 25:25King Amaziah of Judah lived on for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.

2Ch 25:26

2Ch 25:26The rest of the events in Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

2Ch 25:27

2Ch 25:27After Amaziah turned away from the LORD, there was a conspiracy against his life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But his enemies sent assassins after him, and they killed him there.

2Ch 25:28

2Ch 25:28They brought his body back on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.[fn]