2 Raja-raja 14:5-22

14:5 When he had secured control of the kingdom, ¹  he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. ²  14:6 But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, ³  “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, ⁴  and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. ⁵  A man must be put to death only for his own sin.” ⁶ 

14:7 He defeated ⁷  10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, a name it has retained to this very day. 14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel. He said, “Come, let’s meet face to face.” ⁸  14:9 King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal ⁹  of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn. ¹⁰  14:10 You thoroughly defeated Edom ¹¹  and it has gone to your head! ¹²  Gloat over your success, ¹³  but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” ¹⁴  14:11 But Amaziah would not heed the warning, ¹⁵  so King Jehoash of Israel attacked. ¹⁶  He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face ¹⁷  in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 14:12 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. ¹⁸  14:13 King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, in Beth Shemesh. He ¹⁹  attacked ²⁰  Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. ²¹  14:14 He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and some hostages. ²²  Then he went back to Samaria. ²³ 

( 14:15 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s ²⁴  reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. ²⁵  14:16 Jehoash passed away ²⁶  and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam replaced him as king.)

14:17 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 14:18 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ²⁷  14:19 Conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, ²⁸  so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him ²⁹  and they killed him there. 14:20 His body was carried back by horses ³⁰  and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of David. 14:21 All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 14:22 Azariah ³¹  built up Elat and restored it to Judah after the king ³²  had passed away. ³³ 

[14:5]  ¹ tn Heb “when the kingdom was secure in his hand.”

[14:5]  ² tn Heb “he struck down his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”

[14:6]  ³ tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the Lord commanded, saying.”

[14:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “on account of sons.”

[14:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “on account of fathers.”

[14:6]  ⁶ sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.

[14:7]  ⁷ tn Or “struck down.”

[14:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here to meeting in battle. See v. 11.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “the animal of the field.”

[14:9]  ¹⁰ sn Judah is the thorn in the allegory. Amaziah’s success has deceived him into thinking he is on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he is not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).

[14:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “you have indeed defeated Edom.”

[14:10]  ¹² tn Heb “and your heart has lifted you up.”

[14:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “be glorified.”

[14:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”

[14:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “did not listen.”

[14:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “went up.”

[14:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “looked at each other [in the] face.”

[14:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”

[14:13]  ¹⁹ tc The MT has the plural form of the verb, but the final vav (ו) is virtually dittographic. The word that immediately follows in the Hebrew text begins with a yod (י). The form should be emended to the singular, which is consistent in number with the verb (“he broke down”) that follows.

[14:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “came to.”

[14:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “four hundred cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.

[14:14]  ²² tn Heb “the sons of the pledges.”

[14:14]  ²³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[14:15]  ²⁴ sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.

[14:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoash, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”

[14:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

[14:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

[14:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and they conspired against him [with] a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”

[14:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”

[14:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and they carried him on horses.”

[14:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Azariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:22]  ³² sn This must refer to Amaziah.

[14:22]  ³³ tn Heb “lay with his fathers.”