Amaziah Reigns Well in Judah

(2 Kings 14:1-14)

1Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 2And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly. 3 As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king. 4Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not be put to death for their children, and children must not be put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”

Amaziah's Victories

5Then Amaziah gathered the people of Judah and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he numbered those twenty years of age or older throughout Judah and Benjamin and found 300,000 chosen men able to serve in the army, bearing the spear and shield. 6He also hired 100,000 mighty warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver. 7But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel— not with any of the Ephraimites. 8Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has power to help and power to overthrow.” 9Amaziah asked the man of God, “What should I do about the hundred talents I have given to the army of Israel?” And the man of God replied, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.” 10So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. And they were furious with Judah and returned home in great anger.

11Amaziah, however, summoned his strength and led his troops to the Valley of Salt, where he struck down 10,000 men of Seir, 12and the army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces. 13Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had dismissed from battle raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon. They struck down 3,000 people and carried off a great deal of plunder.

Amaziah Rebuked for Idolatry

14 When Amaziah returned from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the Seirites, set them up as his own gods, bowed before them, and burned sacrifices to them. 15Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet, who said, “Why have you sought this people’s gods, which could not deliver them from your hand?” 16 While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why 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 have not heeded my advice.”

Amaziah Defeated by Joash of Israel

17Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent word to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said. 18But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle. 19You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has become proud and boastful. Now stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall— you and Judah with you?”

20But Amaziah would not listen, for this had come from God in order to deliver them into the hand of Jehoash, because they had sought the gods of Edom. 21So Jehoash king of Israel advanced, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah. 22And Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his own home. 23 There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate— a section of four hundred cubits. 24He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the house of God with Obed-edom and in the treasuries of the royal palace, as well as some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

The Death of Amaziah

25Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 26As for the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from beginning to end, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? 27From the time that Amaziah turned from following the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But men were sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there. 28They carried him back on horses and buried him with his fathers in the City of Judah.