2 Kings 14:8-20

GOD’S WORD Translation

King Amaziah’s Defeat and Death^(A)

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu of Israel, to declare war on Israel.

⁹ King Jehoash of Israel sent this message to King Amaziah of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon. It said, ‘Let your daughter marry my son,’ but a wild animal from Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle. ¹⁰ You certainly defeated Edom, and now you have become arrogant. Enjoy your fame, but stay home. Why must you invite disaster and your own defeat and take Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. So King Jehoash of Israel attacked, and King Amaziah of Judah met him in battle at Beth Shemesh in Judah. ¹² Israel defeated the army of Judah, and the Judeans fled to their homes. ¹³ King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah, son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah of Judah, at Beth Shemesh and went to Jerusalem. He tore down a 600-foot section of the wall around Jerusalem from Ephraim Gate to Corner Gate. ¹⁴ He took all the gold, silver, and all the utensils he found in the Lord’s temple and in the royal palace treasury. He also took hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ Isn’t everything else about Jehoash—what he did, his heroic acts when he fought against King Amaziah of Judah—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ Jehoash lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with the kings of Israel in Samaria. His son Jeroboam succeeded him as king.

¹⁷ Joash’s son King Amaziah of Judah lived 15 years after the death of Jehoahaz’s son King Jehoash of Israel. ¹⁸ Isn’t everything else about Amaziah written in the official records of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹ Conspirators in Jerusalem plotted against him, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men to Lachish after him and killed him there. ²⁰ They brought him back by horse, and he was buried in Jerusalem, in the City of David, with his ancestors.