| New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. | 1Amaziah became king when he was 25 years old and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. |
| 2Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, but not wholeheartedly. | 2He did what was right in the LORD's sight but not wholeheartedly. |
| 3When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father. | 3As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. |
| 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.” | 4However, he did not put their children to death, because--as it is written in the Law, in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded--"Fathers must not die because of children, and children must not die because of fathers, but each one will die for his own sin." |
| 5Then Amaziah organized the army, assigning generals and captains 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. | 5Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral house, according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those 20 years old or more for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be 300,000 choice men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield. |
| 6He also paid about 7,500 pounds of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel. | 6Then for 7,500 pounds of silver he hired 100,000 brave warriors from Israel. |
| 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! | 7However, a man of God came to him and said, "King, do not let Israel's army go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel--all the Ephraimites. |
| 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.” | 8But if you go with them, do it! Be strong for battle! But God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to make one stumble." |
| 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!” | 9Then Amaziah said to the man of God, "What should I do about the 7,500 pounds of silver I gave to Israel's division?" The man of God replied, "The LORD is able to give you much more than this." |
| 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. | 10So Amaziah released the division that came to him from Ephraim to go home. But they got very angry with Judah and returned home in a fierce rage. |
| 11Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where they killed 10,000 Edomite troops from Seir. | 11Amaziah strengthened his position and led his people to the Valley of Salt. He struck down 10,000 Seirites, |
| 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. | 12and the Judahites captured 10,000 alive. They took them to the top of a cliff where they threw them off, and all of them were dashed to pieces. |
| 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. | 13As for the men of the division that Amaziah sent back so they would not go with him into battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, struck down 3,000 of their people, and took a great deal of plunder. |
| 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! | 14After Amaziah came from the attack on the Edomites, he brought the gods of the Seirites and set them up as his gods. He worshiped before them and burned incense to them. |
| 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?” | 15So the LORD's anger was against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, who said, "Why have you sought a people's gods that could not deliver their own people from your hand?" |
| 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.” | 16While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, "Have we made you the king's counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life?" So the prophet stopped, but he said, "I know that God intends to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice." |
| 17After consulting with his advisers, King Amaziah of Judah sent this challenge to Israel’s king Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu: “Come and meet me in battle!” | 17King Amaziah of Judah took counsel and sent word to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us meet face to face." |
| 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! | 18King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. |
| 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?” | 19You have said, 'Look, I have defeated Edom,' and you have become overconfident that you will get glory. Now stay at home. Why stir up such trouble so that you fall and Judah with you?" |
| 20But Amaziah refused to listen, for God was determined to destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom. | 20But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom. |
| 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. | 21So King Jehoash of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced off at Beth-shemesh in Judah. |
| 22Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home. | 22Judah was routed before Israel, and each fled to his own tent. |
| 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 of Jerusalem’s wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. | 23King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah's King Amaziah son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash took him to Jerusalem and broke down 200 yards of Jerusalem's wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. |
| 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. | 24He took all the gold, silver, all the utensils that were found with Obed-edom in God's temple, the treasures of the king's palace, and the hostages. Then he returned to Samaria. |
| 25King Amaziah of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel. | 25Judah's King Amaziah son of Joash lived 15 years after the death of Israel's King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz. |
| 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. | 26The rest of the events of Amaziah's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. |
| 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. | 27From the time Amaziah turned from following the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there. |
| 28They brought his body back on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. | 28They carried him back on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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