2 Chronicles 25

• 1. Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin, from Jerusalem.
• 2. Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, but not wholeheartedly.
• 3. When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the men who had assassinated his father.
• 4. However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD written in the Book of the Law of Moses: "Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor the children for the sins of their parents. Those worthy of death must be executed for their own crimes."
• 5. Another thing Amaziah did was to organize the army, assigning leaders to each clan from Judah and Benjamin. Then he took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 men twenty years old and older, all trained in the use of spear and shield.
• 6. He also paid about 7,500 pounds of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel.
• 7. But a man of God came to the king and said, "O king, do not hire troops from Israel, for the LORD is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim!
• 8. If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help or to frustrate."
• 9. Amaziah asked the man of God, "But what should I do about the 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!"
• 10. So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back to Ephraim. This made them angry with Judah, and they returned home in a great rage.
• 11. Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where they killed ten thousand Edomite troops from Seir.
• 12. They captured another ten thousand and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off, dashing them to pieces on the rocks below.
• 13. Meanwhile, the hired troops that Amaziah had sent home raided several of the towns of Judah between Samaria and Beth-horon, killing three thousand people and carrying off great quantities of plunder.
• 14. When King Amaziah returned from defeating 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 presented sacrifices to them!
• 15. This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, "Why have you worshiped gods who could not even save their own people from you?"
• 16. But the king interrupted him and said, "Since when have I asked your advice? Be quiet now before I have you killed!" So the prophet left with this warning: "I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have not accepted my counsel."
• 17. After 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!"
• 18. But 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 came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it!
• 19. You may be very proud of your conquest of Edom, but my advice is to stay home. Why stir up trouble that will bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?"
• 20. But Amaziah would not listen, for God was arranging to destroy him for worshiping the gods of Edom.
• 21. So 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.
• 22. Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home.
• 23. King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah at Beth-shemesh and brought him back to Jerusalem. Then Jehoash ordered his army to demolish six hundred feet of Jerusalem's wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.
• 24. He carried off all the gold and silver and all the utensils 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.
• 25. King Amaziah of Judah lived on for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.
• 26. The rest of the events of Amaziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
• 27. After 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.
• 28. They brought him back to Jerusalem on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.

2 Chronicles 26

• 1. The people of Judah then crowned Amaziah's sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as their next king.
• 2. After his father's death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah.
• 3. Uzziah was sixteen when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem.
• 4. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.
• 5. Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as the king sought the LORD, God gave him success.
• 6. He declared war on the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built new towns in the Ashdod area and in other parts of Philistia.
• 7. God helped him not only with his wars against the Philistines, but also in his battles with the Arabs of Gur and in his wars with the Meunites.
• 8. The Meunites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he had become very powerful.
• 9. Uzziah built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the angle in the wall.
• 10. He also constructed forts in the wilderness and dug many water cisterns, because he kept great herds of livestock in the foothills of Judah and on the plains. He was also a man who loved the soil. He had many workers who cared for his farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys.
• 11. Uzziah had an army of well-trained warriors, ready to march into battle, unit by unit. This great army of fighting men had been mustered and organized by Jeiel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Maaseiah. They were under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's officials.
• 12. Twenty-six hundred clan leaders commanded these regiments of seasoned warriors.
• 13. The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. They were prepared to assist the king against any enemy.
• 14. Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones.
• 15. And he produced machines mounted on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by brilliant men to shoot arrows and hurl stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the LORD helped him wonderfully until he became very powerful.
• 16. But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the LORD his God by entering the sanctuary of the LORD's Temple and personally burning incense on the altar.
• 17. Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the LORD, all brave men.
• 18. They confronted King Uzziah and said, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is the work of the priests alone, the sons of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The LORD God will not honor you for this!"
• 19. Uzziah was furious and refused to set down the incense burner he was holding. But as he was standing there with the priests before the incense altar in the LORD's Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead.
• 20. When Azariah and the other priests saw the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king himself was eager to get out because the LORD had struck him.
• 21. So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation, excluded from the Temple of the LORD. His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.
• 22. The rest of the events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
• 23. So Uzziah died, and since he had leprosy, he was buried nearby in a burial field belonging to the kings. Then his son Jotham became the next king.

2 Chronicles 27

• 1. Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
• 2. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Uzziah, had done. But unlike him, Jotham did not enter the Temple of the LORD. Nevertheless, the people continued in their corrupt ways.
• 3. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate to the LORD's Temple and also did extensive rebuilding on the wall at the hill of Ophel.
• 4. He built towns in the hill country of Judah and constructed fortresses and towers in the wooded areas.
• 5. Jotham waged war against the Ammonites and conquered them. For the next three years, he received from them an annual tribute of 7,500 pounds of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley.
• 6. King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God.
• 7. The rest of the events of Jotham's reign, including his wars and other activities, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
• 8. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years.
• 9. When he died, he was buried in the City of David, and his son Ahaz became the next king.

New Living Translation: 136 of 324 days.