II Chronicles 25

¹Forsothe Amasie, `his sone, regnede for hym; Amasie was of fyue and twenti yeer, whanne he bigan to regne, and he regnyde nyne and twenti yeer in Jerusalem; the name of his modir was Joiaden, of Jerusalem.

²And he dide good in the siyt of the Lord, netheles not in perfit herte.

³And whanne he siy the empire strengthid to hym silf, he stranglide the seruauntis, that killiden the kyng, his fadir;

⁴but he killide not the sones of hem; as it is writun in the book of the lawe of Moises, where the Lord comaundide, seiynge, Fadris schulen not be slayn for the sones, nether the sones for her fadris; but ech man schal die in his owne synne.

⁵Therfor Amasie gaderide togidere Juda, and ordeynede hem bi meynees and tribunes and centuriouns, in al Juda and Beniamyn; and he noumbride fro twenti yeer and aboue, and he foonde thritti thousynde of yonge men, that yeden out to batel, and helden spere and scheeld.

⁶Also for mede he hiride of Israel an hundrid thousynde of stronge men, for an hundrid talentis of siluer, that thei schulden fiyte ayens the sones of Edom.

⁷Forsothe a man of God cam to hym, and seide, A! kyng, the oost of Israel go not out with thee, for the Lord is not with Israel and with alle the sones of Effraym;

⁸for if thou gessist that batels stonden in the myyt of oost, the Lord schal make thee to be ouercomun of enemyes, for it is of God for to helpe, and to turne in to fliyt.

⁹And Amasie seide to the man of God, What therfor schal be doon of the hundrid talentis, which Y yaf to the knyytis of Israel? And the man of God answeride to hym, The Lord hath, wherof he may yelde to thee myche mo thingis than these.

¹⁰Therfor Amasie departide the oost that cam to hym fro Effraym, that it schulde turne ayen in to his place; and thei weren wrooth greetli ayens Juda, and turneden ayen in to her cuntrei.

¹¹Forsothe Amasie ledde out tristili his puple, and yede in to the valei of makyngis of salt, and he killide of the sones of Seir ten thousynde.

¹²And the sones of Juda token othere ten thousynde of men, and brouyten to the hiy scarre of summe stoon; and castiden hem doun fro the hiyeste in to the pit; whiche alle braken.

¹³And thilke oost whom Amasie hadde sent ayen, that it schulde not go with him to batel, was spred abrood in the citees of Juda fro Samarie `til to Betheron; and aftir `that it hadde slayn thre thousynde, it took awey a greet preie.

¹⁴And Amasie, after the sleyng of Idumeis, and after that he hadde brouyt the goddis of the sones of Seir, ordeynede hem `in to goddis to hym silf, and worschipide hem, and brente encense to hem.

¹⁵Wherfor the Lord was wrooth ayens Amasie, and sente to hym a profete, that seide to hym, Whi worschipist thou goddis that `delyueriden not her puple fro thin hond?

¹⁶Whanne the profete spak these thingis, Amasie answeride to hym, Whether thou art a counselour of the king? ceesse thou, lest perauenture Y sle thee. Therfor the profete yede awei, and seide, Y woot, that the Lord thouyte to sle thee; for thou didist this yuel, and ferthermore thou assentidist not to my counsel.

¹⁷Therfor Amasie, the king of Juda, whanne he hadde take a ful yuel counsel, sente to the kyng of Israel Joas, the sone of Joachaz, the sone of Hieu, and seide, Come thou, se we vs togidere.

¹⁸And he sente ayen messangeris, and seide, A `cardue, ether a tasil, which is in the Liban sente to the cedre of the Liban, and seide, Yyue thi douyter a wijf to my sone; and lo! beestis that weren in the wode of the Liban yeden and defouliden the cardue.

¹⁹Thou seidist, Y haue smyte Edom, and therfor thin herte is reysid in to pride; sitte thou in thin hows; whi stirist thou yuel ayens thee, that thou falle, and Juda with thee?

²⁰Amasie nolde here, for it was the wille of the Lord, that he schulde be bitakun in to the hondis of enemyes, for the goddis of Edom.

²¹Therfor Joas, kyng of Israel, stiede, and thei siyen hem silf togidere. Sotheli Amasie, the kyng of Juda, was in Bethsames of Juda;

²²and Juda felde doun bifor Israel, and fledde in to his tabernaclis.

²³Certis the kyng of Israel took in Bethsames Amasie, the kyng of Juda, the sone of Joas, sone of Joachaz, and brouyte in to Jerusalem; and he destriede the wallis therof fro the yate of Effraym `til to the yate of the corner, bi foure hundrid cubitis.

²⁴And be ledde ayen in to Samarie al the gold and siluer, and alle vessels whiche he foond in the hows of the Lord, and at Obededom, in the tresouris also of the kyngis hows, also and the sones of ostagis.

²⁵Forsothe Amasie, kyng of Juda, the sone of Joas, lyuede fiftene yeer aftir that Joas, kyng of Israel, the sone of Joachaz, was deed.

²⁶Sotheli the residue of the formere and the laste wordis of Amasie ben writun in the book of kyngis of Juda and of Israel.

²⁷And aftir that he yede awei fro the Lord, thei settiden to hym tresouns in Jerusalem; and whanne he hadde fledde to Lachis, thei senten and killiden hym there;

²⁸and thei brouyten ayen on horsis, and birieden hym with his fadris in the citee of Dauid.

II Chronicles 25

¹Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

²And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.

³Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father.

⁴But 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 the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

⁵Moreover 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 from 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.

⁶He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

⁷But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.

⁸But 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.

⁹And 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 to give thee much more than this.

¹⁰Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

¹¹And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand.

¹²And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

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

¹⁴Now 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, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.

¹⁵Wherefore 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 not deliver their own people out of thine hand?

¹⁶And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be 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.

¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.

¹⁸And Joash 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 thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

¹⁹Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?

²⁰But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom.

²¹So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth–shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.

²²And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent.

²³And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth–shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

²⁴And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that 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.

²⁵And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there.

²⁸And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.