2 Crônicas 25

¹ Amaziah was fiue and twentie yere old when he began to reigne, and he reigned nine and twentie yeere in Ierusalem: and his mothers name was Iehoaddan, of Ierusalem.

² And he did [that which was]Meaning, in respect to his predecessors, though he had his imperfections.right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.

³ And when the kingdome was established vnto him, he slewe his seruants, that had slaine the King his father.

⁴ But he slew not their children, but [did] as [it is] written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for theThat is, for the fault the child is punished for unless he is guilty of the same.children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

⁵ Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of [their] fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them fromSo many as were able to bear weapons and go to war.twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice [men, able] to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield.

⁶ He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valourThat is, out of the ten tribes who had separated themselves before both from God and their true king.out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD [is] notTherefore to think to have help from them, whom the Lord does not favour, is to cast off the help of the Lord.with Israel, [to wit, with] all the children of Ephraim.

⁸ ButIf you will not give credit to my words.if thou wilt go, do [it], be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.

⁹ And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able toHe shows that if we depend only on God, we will not need to be troubled by these worldly things, for he will give at all times that which will be necessary if we obey his word.give thee much more than this.

¹⁰ So Amaziah separated them, to wit, the armie that was come to him out of Ephraim, to returne to their place: wherefore their wrath was kindled greatly against Iudah, and they returned to their places with great anger.

¹¹ And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children ofFor the Idumeans whom David had brought to subjection rebelled under Jehoram Jehoshaphat's son.Seir ten thousand.

¹² And [other] ten thousand [left] alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of theIn (2Ki_14:7) this rock is called the city Sela.rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

¹³ But the soldiers of theThat is, the 100,000 of Israel.army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

¹⁴ Now it came to pass, 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, andThat where he should have praised God for his benefits and great victory, he fell from God and most vilely dishonoured him.bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.

¹⁵ Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could notHe proves that whatever cannot save himself nor his worshipper is no god but an idol.deliver their own people out of thine hand?

¹⁶ And it came to pass, as he talked with him, thatMeaning the king.[the king] said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou beSo hard it is, for the carnal man to be admonished for his fault, that he condemns, mocks and threatens him who warns him: yea, imprisons him and puts him to death, (2Ch_16:10, 2Ch_18:26, 2Ch_24:21).smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

¹⁷ Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come,That is, let us try the matter hand to hand: for he was offended, that the army of the Israelites whom he had in wages and dismissed by the counsel of the prophet, had destroyed certain of the cities of Judah.let us see one another in the face.

¹⁸ But Ioash King of Israel sent to Amaziah King of Iudah, saying, The thistle that is in Lebanon, sent to the cedar that is in Lebanon, saying, Giue thy daughter to my sonne to wife: and the wilde beast that was in Lebanon went and trode downe the thistle.

¹⁹ Thou thinkest: lo, thou hast smitten Edom, and thine heart lifteth thee vp to bragge: abide now at home: why doest thou prouoke to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, and Iudah with thee?

²⁰ But Amaziah would not hear; forThus God often plagues by those means on which men must rely, to teach them to seek help only from him, and to show his judgments, he moves their hearts to follow that which will lead to their destruction.it [came] of God, that he might deliver them into the hand [of their enemies], because they sought after the gods of Edom.

²¹ So Ioash the King of Israel went vp: and he, and Amaziah King of Iudah saw one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which is in Iudah.

²² And Iudah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled euery man to his tents.

²³ But Ioash the King of Israel tooke Amaziah King of Iudah, the sonne of Ioash, the sonne of Iehoahaz in Bethshemesh, and brought him to Ierusalem, and brake downe the wall of Ierusalem, from the gate of Ephraim vnto the corner gate, foure hundreth cubites.

²⁴ And [he took] all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God withMeaning, the successors of Obededom: for the house bore the name of the chief father.Obededom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ And Amaziah the sonne of Ioash King of Iudah liued after the death of Ioash sonne of Iehoahaz King of Israel, fifteene yeere.

²⁶ Concerning the rest of the actes of Amaziah first and last, are they not written in the booke of the Kings of Iudah and Israel?

²⁷ Nowe after the time that Amaziah did turne away from ye Lord, they wrought treason against him in Ierusalem: and when he was fled to Lachish, they sent to Lachish after him, and slewe him there.

²⁸ And they brought him vpon horses, & buried him with his fathers in the citie of Iudah.