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2 KINGS: CHAPTER
14; 2 CHRONICLES 25; JONAH 1-4
2 KINGS: CHAPTER
14
Amaziah Reigns
over Judah
1 In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king
of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he became
king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's
name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.
3 He did right in the sight of the LORD,
yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his
father had done.
4 Only the high places were not taken away; the
people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
5 Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was
firmly in his hand, that he killed his servants who had slain the king
his father.
6 But the sons of the slayers he did not put
to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses,
as the LORD commanded, saying, "The fathers shall
not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the
fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin."
7 He killed of Edom in the Valley
of Salt 10,000 and took Sela by war, and named it Joktheel to this day.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash,
the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let
us face each other."
9 Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king
of Judah, saying, "The thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar
which was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage.'
But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trampled the
thorn bush.
10 "You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart
has become proud. Enjoy your glory and stay at home; for why should
you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall, and Judah with
you?"
11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash
king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each
other at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
12 Judah was defeated by Israel, and they fled
each to his tent.
13 Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah
king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh,
and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate
of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits.
14 He took all the gold and silver and all the
utensils which were found in the house of the LORD,
and in the treasuries of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned
to Samaria.
Jeroboam
II Succeeds Jehoash in Israel
15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash
which he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah,
are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
16 So Jehoash slept with his fathers and was
buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son became
king in his place.
Azariah (Uzziah)
Succeeds Amaziah in Judah
17 Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king
of Israel.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they
not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
19 They conspired against him in Jerusalem, and
he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him
there.
20 Then they brought him on horses and he was
buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
21 All the people of Judah took Azariah, who
was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his
father Amaziah.
22 He built Elath and restored it to Judah after
the king slept with his fathers.
23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the
son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel
became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years.
24 He did evil in the sight of the LORD;
he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which
he made Israel sin.
25 He restored the border of Israel from the
entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the
word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He
spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who
was of Gath-hepher.
26 For the LORD saw the
affliction of Israel, which was very bitter; for there was neither
bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel.
27 The LORD did not say
that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He
saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
Zechariah
Reigns over Israel
28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam
and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered
for Israel, Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah,
are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even
with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place.
2 CHRONICLES:
CHAPTER 25
Amaziah Succeeds
Joash in Judah
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became
king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's
name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2 He did right in the sight of the LORD,
yet not with a whole heart.
3 Now it came about as soon as the kingdom was
firmly in his grasp, that he killed his servants who had slain his father
the king.
4 However, he did not put their children to death,
but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, which
the LORD commanded, saying, "Fathers shall not
be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers, but
each shall be put to death for his own sin."
Amaziah Defeats
Edomites
5 Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and
appointed them according to their fathers' households under commanders
of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin;
and he took a census of those from twenty years old and upward and found
them to be 300,000 choice men, able to go to war and handle
spear and shield.
6 He hired also 100,000 valiant warriors out
of Israel for one hundred talents of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him saying, "O king,
do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD
is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim.
8 "But if you do go, do it, be strong
for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy,
for God has power to help and to bring down."
9 Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall
we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of
Israel?" And the man of God answered, "The LORD
has much more to give you than this."
10 Then Amaziah dismissed them, the troops which
came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against
Judah and they returned home in fierce anger.
11 Now Amaziah strengthened himself and
led his people forth, and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down
10,000 of the sons of Seir.
12 The sons of Judah also captured 10,000 alive
and brought them to the top of the cliff and threw them down from the
top of the cliff, so that they were all dashed to pieces.
13 But the troops whom Amaziah sent back from
going with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to
Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 of them and plundered much spoil.
Amaziah Rebuked
for Idolatry
14 Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering
the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as
his gods, bowed down before them and burned incense to them.
15 Then the anger of the LORD
burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, "Why
have you sought the gods of the people who have not delivered their
own people from your hand?"
16 As he was talking with him, the king said
to him, "Have we appointed you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you
be struck down?" Then the prophet stopped and said, "I know that God
has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not
listened to my counsel."
Amaziah Defeated
by Joash of Israel
17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel
and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel,
saying, "Come, let us face each other."
18 Joash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king
of Judah, saying, "The thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar
which was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage.'
But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trampled the
thorn bush.
19 "You said, 'Behold, you have defeated Edom.'
And your heart has become proud in boasting. Now stay at home; for why
should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall and Judah
with you?"
20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it
was from God, that He might deliver them into the hand of Joash
because they had sought the gods of Edom.
21 So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and
Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belonged
to Judah.
22 Judah was defeated by Israel, and they fled
each to his tent.
23 Then Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah
king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh,
and brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from
the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits.
24 He took all the gold and silver and
all the utensils which were found in the house of God with Obed-edom,
and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned
to Samaria.
25 And Amaziah, the son of Joash king
of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash, son of Jehoahaz,
king of Israel.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from
first to last, behold, are they not written in the Book of the Kings
of Judah and Israel?
27 From the time that Amaziah turned away from
following the LORD they conspired against him
in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish
and killed him there.
28 Then they brought him on horses and buried
him with his fathers in the city of Judah.
JONAH
JONAH: CHAPTER
1-4
Jonah's Disobedience
1 The word of the LORD
came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying,
2 "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry
against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me."
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from
the presence of the LORD. So he went down to
Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went
down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
4 The LORD hurled
a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that
the ship was about to break up.
5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man
cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into
the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into
the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.
6 So the captain approached him and said, "How
is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your
god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish."
7 Each man said to his mate, "Come, let
us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck
us." So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, "Tell us, now! On whose
account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation?
And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are
you?"
9 He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear
the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the
dry land."
10 Then the men became extremely frightened
and they said to him, "How could you do this?" For the men knew that
he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD,
because he had told them.
11 So they said to him, "What should we do to
you that the sea may become calm for us?"—for the sea was becoming
increasingly stormy.
12 He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me
into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that
on account of me this great storm has come upon you."
13 However, the men rowed desperately
to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even
stormier against them.
14 Then they called on the LORD
and said, "We earnestly pray, O LORD, do not
let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent
blood on us; for You, O LORD, have done as You
have pleased."
15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him
into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
16 Then the men feared the LORD
greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD
and made vows.
17 And the LORD
appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach
of the fish three days and three nights.
JONAH: CHAPTER
2
Jonah's Prayer
1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD
his God from the stomach of the fish,
2 and he said,
"I called out of my distress to the LORD,
And He answered me.
I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
3 "For You had cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current engulfed me.
All Your breakers and billows passed over me.
4 "So I said, 'I have been expelled from Your
sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.'
5 "Water encompassed me to the point of death.
The great deep engulfed me,
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 "I descended to the roots of the mountains.
The earth with its bars was around me forever,
But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD
my God.
7 "While I was fainting away,
I remembered the LORD,
And my prayer came to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 "Those who regard vain idols
Forsake their faithfulness,
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving.
That which I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation is from the LORD."
10 Then the LORD
commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
JONAH: CHAPTER
3
Nineveh Repents
1 Now the word of the LORD
came to Jonah the second time, saying,
2 "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim
to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you."
3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according
to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly
great city, a three days' walk.
4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one
day's walk; and he cried out and said, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will
be overthrown."
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed
in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest
to the least of them.
6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh,
he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself
with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.
7 He issued a proclamation and it said, "In Nineveh
by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd,
or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.
8 "But both man and beast must be covered with
sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from
his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.
9 "Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw
His burning anger so that we will not perish."
10 When God saw their deeds, that they
turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity
which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.
JONAH: CHAPTER
4
Jonah's Displeasure
Rebuked
1 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became
angry.
2 He prayed to the LORD
and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said
while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall
this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate
God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents
concerning calamity.
3 "Therefore now, O LORD,
please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life."
4 The LORD said, "Do you
have good reason to be angry?"
5 Then Jonah went out from the city and
sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it
in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city.
6 So the LORD God appointed
a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver
him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.
7 But God appointed a worm when dawn came the
next day and it attacked the plant and it withered.
8 When the sun came up God appointed a scorching
east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint
and begged with all his soul to die, saying, "Death is better
to me than life."
9 Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have
good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "I have good
reason to be angry, even to death."
10 Then the LORD said,
"You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which
you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.
11 "Should I not have compassion on Nineveh,
the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not
know the difference between their right and left hand, as well
as many animals?"
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