2 Kings 14NKJV
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2 Kings14

New King James Version

1In the second year of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, became king.

2He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

3And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like his father David; he did everything as his father Joash had done.

4However the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

5Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.

6But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”

7He killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel to this day.

8Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”

9And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

10You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Glory in that, and stay at home; for why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

11But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out; so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

12And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.

13Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh; and he went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits.

14And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

15Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did—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?

16So Jehoash rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

17Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.

18Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

19And they formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.

20Then they brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David.

21And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.

22He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.

23In 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.

24And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.

25He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.

26For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter; and whether bond or free, there was no helper for Israel.

27And 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.

28Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did—his might, how he made war, and how he recaptured for Israel, from Damascus and Hamath, what had belonged to Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

29So Jeroboam rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. Then Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 2 Kings 14.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Amaziah's good reign. (1–7). Amaziah provokes Jehoash king of Israel, and is overcome. (8–14). He is slain by conspirators. (15–22). Wicked reign of Jeroboam II. (23–29).

vv1-7

Amaziah began well, but did not go on so. It is not enough to do that which our pious predecessors did, merely to keep up the common usage, but we must do it as they did, from the same principle of faith and devotion, and with the same sincerity and resolution.

vv8-14

For some time after the division of the kingdoms, Judah suffered much from the enmity of Israel. After Asa's time, it suffered more by the friendship of Israel, and by the alliance made with them. Now we meet with hostility between them again. How may a humble man smile to hear two proud and scornful men set their wits on work, to vilify and undervalue one another! Unholy success excites pride; pride excites contentions. The effects of pride in others, are insufferable to those who are proud themselves. These are the sources of trouble and sin in private life; but when they arise between princes, they become the misery of their whole kingdoms. Jehoash shows Amaziah the folly of his challenge; Thine heart has lifted thee up. The root of all sin is in the heart, thence it flows. It is not Providence, the event, the occasion, whatever it is, that makes men proud, secure, discontented, or the like, but their own hearts do it. (2Ki 14:15-22)

vv15-22

Amaziah survived his conqueror fifteen years. He was slain by his own subjects. Azariah, or Uzziah, seems to have been very young when his father was slain. Though the years of his reign are reckoned from that event, he was not fully made king till eleven years afterwards.

Cross References

2 Kings 14

Directly quoted law stating fathers and children shall not be put to death for each other's sins.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

Parallel account providing crucial context for Amaziah's challenge and the actions of the Israeli mercenaries.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v9Judges 9:8-15thematic

Classic biblical plant fable (Jotham's parable) establishing the parabolic genre of Jehoash's thistle response.

Supported by JFB

Explains Amaziah's refusal to hear as divine judgment for adopting the gods of Edom.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v25Jonah 1:1thematic

Identifies the prophet Jonah, son of Amittai, whose political prophecy undergirded Jeroboam II's conquests.

Supported by Matthew Henry

Uses Deuteronomy's exact phrasing 'none shut up, nor any left' to describe Israel's extreme desperation.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v72 Kings 8:20-22thematic

Explains Amaziah's Edom campaign as attempting to subdue the revolt that began under Jehoram.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

Details that the conspiracy in Jerusalem began after Amaziah turned away from following the Lord.

Supported by JFB

Parallel coronation of Azariah (Uzziah) by the people of Judah after his father's murder.

Supported by JFB

Parallel highlights that Amaziah did right in God's eyes, 'but not with a perfect heart.'

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v52 Kings 12:20thematic

Identifies the conspiracy and murder of Amaziah's father Joash, which Amaziah is now avenging.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v221 Kings 9:26thematic

Establishes Elath (Ebron-geber) as Solomon's ancient Red Sea port, highlighting its economic/strategic restoration.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v23Amos 7:10-11thematic

Prophetic confrontation under Amos during Jeroboam's reign, warning of Israel's ultimate exile.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v252 Kings 13:5fulfillment

Jeroboam II acts as the 'savior' promised by God to deliver Israel from Syrian oppression.

Supported by Matthew Henry