2 Kings
Chapter 15
1 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam of Israel, Azariah, the son of King Amaziah of Judah, started his rule.
2 He was sixteen when he became king, and he ruled for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecholiah from Jerusalem.
3 He did what was good in God’s eyes, just as his father Amaziah had done.
4 But the high places were not taken away: the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
5 God punished the king with leprosy until he died, and he lived in a separate house. Jotham, the king’s son, took charge of the palace and ruled the land’s people.
6 The other things Azariah did are written in the Judah kings’ records, right?
7 Azariah died and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David; his son Jotham became king after him.
8 Zachariah, Jeroboam’s son, became king of Israel in Samaria for six months during Azariah’s thirty-eighth year as king of Judah.
9 He did evil in God’s eyes, just like his ancestors. He continued the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who led Israel to sin.
10 Shallum, Jabesh’s son, plotted against him, struck him down in front of the people, killed him, and then became ruler in his place.
11 The other things Zachariah did are written down in the history book of Israel’s kings.
12 This is what God said to Jehu: Your sons will rule as kings of Israel until the fourth generation. And it happened.
13 Shallum, Jabesh’s son, became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah, and ruled for one month in Samaria.
14 Menahem, Gadi’s son, left Tirzah, went to Samaria, attacked and killed Shallum, Jabesh’s son, in Samaria, then took over as ruler.
15 The other things Shallum did and his plot are recorded in the book of the histories of Israel’s kings.
16 Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all its people, and the surrounding lands from Tirzah because they didn’t let him in. So he destroyed it, and he tore open all the pregnant women there.
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah’s rule over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel and ruled for ten years in Samaria.
18 He did evil in God’s eyes and never stopped sinning like Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, who led Israel into sin.
19 The Assyrian King Pul attacked the land. Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so he would support Menahem’s rule.
20 Menahem forced the rich leaders of Israel to give him money; each man had to pay fifty silver shekels so he could give it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left and did not stay in the country.
21 The other things Menahem did, aren’t they written in the history book of Israel’s kings?
22 Menahem died, and his son Pekahiah became king after him.
23 In Azariah’s fiftieth year as Judah’s king, Pekahiah, Menahem’s son, became Israel’s king in Samaria and ruled for two years.
24 He did evil things that God saw; he kept on sinning like Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, who led Israel into sin.
25 Pekah, Remaliah’s son and one of his captains, plotted against him. He attacked and killed him in Samaria, inside the king’s palace, with the help of Argob, Arieh, and fifty Gileadite men. Then he took over as king.
26 Other things Pekahiah did and his actions are written in the Israel Kings’ history book.
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah’s rule in Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria and ruled for twenty years.
28 He did evil in God’s eyes and did not stop doing the same sins as Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, who led Israel to sin.
29 During Pekah’s time as king of Israel, Tiglathpileser, the Assyrian king, captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, the whole region of Naphtali, and took the people to Assyria as prisoners.
30 Hoshea, Elah’s son, plotted against Pekah, Remaliah’s son, struck him down, killed him, and became king in his place during the twentieth year of Jotham, Uzziah’s son.
31 The other things Pekah did are all written in the book of Israel’s kings’ histories.
32 In the second year when Pekah, Remaliah’s son, was king of Israel, Jotham, Uzziah’s son, started to reign as king of Judah.
33 He was 25 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled for 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha, Zadok’s daughter.
34 He did what was right in God’s eyes, just like his father Uzziah had done.
35 Yet the high places were not taken away: the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. He constructed the upper gate of God’s house.
36 The other things Jotham did and all his actions are written in the book of the records of the kings of Judah, aren’t they?
37 In those days, God started to send Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, against Judah.
38 Jotham died and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David his father: and his son Ahaz became king after him.