Discovery Box2 Chronicles 25:13-28
Context25:13 Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle 1 raided 2 the cities of Judah from Samaria 3 to Beth Horon. They killed 4 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.
25:14 When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people 5 of Seir and made them his personal gods. 6 He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices. 25:15 The Lord was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why are you following 7 these gods 8 that could not deliver their own people from your power?” 9 25:16 While he was speaking, Amaziah 10 said to him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!” 11 So the prophet stopped, but added, “I know that the Lord has decided 12 to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice.”
25:17 After King Amaziah of Judah consulted with his advisers, 13 he sent this message to the king of Israel, Joash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, “Come, face me on the battlefield.” 14 25:18 King Joash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn bush. 15 25:19 You defeated Edom 16 and it has gone to your head. 17 Gloat over your success, 18 but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” 19
25:20 But Amaziah did not heed the warning, 20 for God wanted to hand them over to Joash because they followed the gods of Edom. 21 25:21 So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other on the battlefield 22 in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 25:22 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. 23 25:23 King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash son of Jehoahaz, in Beth Shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. He broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. 24 25:24 He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God’s temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.
25:25 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Joash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 25:26 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 25 25:27 From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, 26 so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him 27 and they killed him there. 25:28 His body was carried back by horses, 28 and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors 29 in the City of David. 30
[25:13] 1 tn Heb “had sent back from going with him to the battle.”
[25:13] 3 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[25:13] 4 tn Heb “struck down.”
[25:14] 6 tn Heb “caused them to stand for him as gods.”
[25:15] 7 tn Heb “seeking,” perhaps in the sense of “consulting [an oracle from].”
[25:15] 8 tn Heb “the gods of the people.”
[25:16] 10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:16] 11 tn Heb “Stop yourself! Why should they strike you down?”
[25:16] 12 tn The verb יָעַץ (ya’ats, “has decided”) is from the same root as יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets, “counselor”) in v. 16 and עֵצָה (’etsah, “advice”) later in v. 16. The wordplay highlights the appropriate nature of the divine punishment. Amaziah rejected the counsel of God’s prophet; now he would be the victim of God’s “counsel.”
[25:17] 13 tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[25:17] 14 tn Heb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here not to a visit but to meeting in battle. See v. 21.
[25:18] 15 sn The thorn bush in the allegory is Judah. Amaziah’s success had deceived him into thinking he was on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he was not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
[25:19] 16 tn Heb “you say [to yourself], ‘look, you have defeated Edom.’”
[25:19] 17 tn Heb “and your heart is lifted up.”
[25:19] 18 tn Heb “to glorify.”
[25:19] 19 tn Heb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”
[25:20] 20 tn Heb “did not listen.”
[25:20] 21 tn Heb “because it was from God in order to give them into the hand because they sought the gods of Edom.”
[25:21] 22 tn Heb “looked at each other [in the] face.” See the note on the expression “Come on, face me on the battlefield” in v. 17.
[25:22] 23 tn Heb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”
[25:23] 24 tn Heb “400 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the distance would have been about 600 feet (180 m).
[25:26] 25 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, the former and the latter, are they not – behold, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
[25:27] 26 tn Heb “and they conspired against him [with] a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”
[25:27] 27 tn Heb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”
[25:28] 28 tn Heb “and they carried him on horses.”
[25:28] 30 tc The Hebrew text has “Judah,” but some medieval
