2 Chronicles 25:1-11

Amaziah’s Reign

25:1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 25:2 He did what the Lord approved, but not with wholehearted devotion.

25:3 When he had secured control of the kingdom, he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. 25:4 However, he did not execute their sons. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, “Fathers must not be executed for what their sons do, and sons must not be executed for what their fathers do. A man must be executed only for his own sin.”

25:5 Amaziah assembled the people of Judah and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age equipped with spears and shields. 25:6 He hired 100,000 Israelite warriors for a hundred talents of silver.

25:7 But a prophet visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites. 25:8 Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.” 25:9 Amaziah asked the prophet: “But what should I do about the hundred talents of silver I paid the Israelite troops?” The prophet replied, “The Lord is capable of giving you more than that.” 25:10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed. 25:11 Amaziah boldly led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he defeated 10,000 Edomites.