1In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, Azariah, son of Amaziah, began his reign of Judah. 2He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. And his mother's name was Jecholiah, of Jerusalem. 3And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father, Amaziah, had done; 4Except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5And the LORD struck King Azariah, so that he was a leper unto the day he died, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham, the king's son, took charge of the palace, and governed the people of the land. 6And the rest of the events in the reign of Azariah (Uzziah), and what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 7So Azariah died, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Jotham, his son, reigned in his stead. 8In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. 9And he did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, as had his fathers; not departing from the sins of Jeroboam I, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 10Then Shallum (one of the commanders of the king’s army), son of Jabesh, conspired against, and assassinated Zechariah in front of the people, and reigned in his stead. 11And the rest of the acts of Zechariah are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 12This was the fulfillment of the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation.” (2 Kings 10:30) And so it was: with Zechariah representing the fourth generation; and the last in Jehu’s line. 13Shallum, son of Jabesh, began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah; and he reigned just one month in Samaria. 14His brief reign ended when Menahem, son of Gadi and Zachariah’s commander, marched from (the siege of) Tirzah to Samaria, assassinated Shallum, and reigned in his stead. 15And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy (v10) are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 16Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah from Tirzah and killed everyone within its border because they would not surrender; and he ripped up all the women in it who were with child. 17Menahem began to reign over Israel in the thirty-ninth year of Azariah, king of Judah, and he reigned ten years in Samaria. 18He also did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD; in all his days he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam I, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 19Then Pul (Tiglath-pileser III), the king of Assyria, came against the land of Israel; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver (about 66,140 pounds), to get his help to firm up control of the kingdom. 20And Menahem raised this money by exacting it from all the men of wealth of Israel - from each man fifty shekels of silver (about 1¼ pounds), for his gift (bribe) to the king of Assyria. And so, the king of Assyria withdrew from Israel. 21And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22And Menahem died; and his son, Pekahiah, reigned in his stead. 23In the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekahiah, son of Menahem, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24He, too, did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD; not departing from the sins of Jeroboam I, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 25But Pekah, one of his captains, and the son of Remaliah, conspired with fifty men of the Gileadites, against Pekahiah, and killed him in the palace in Samaria, along with Argob and Arieh; and then Pekah reigned in his stead. 26And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 27In the fifty-second year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah, son of Remaliah, (the chief officer of king Pekahiah who assassinated him to take the throne) began his reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. 28And he did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD; not departing from the sins of Jeroboam I, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 29In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried the people to Assyria as captives. 30And then Hoshea, son of Elah, conspired against Pekah, son of Remaliah, and in the twentieth* year of Jotham, son of Uzziah (*4th year of Ahaz. Jotham’s son), Hoshea killed Pekah, and reigned in his stead. 31And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 32In the second year of Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham, son of Uzziah (Azariah), began to reign as king of Judah, 33 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. 34And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD; according to all that his father, Uzziah, had done. 35However, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense in those high places. He built the higher gate of the Temple of the LORD. 36Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, what he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. 37In those days the LORD began to send Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, against Judah. 38And Jotham died, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his ancestor; and Ahaz, his son, reigned in his stead. Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |