2 Kings 21:19-26

Amon’s Reign over Judah

21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother ²  was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 21:20 He did evil in the sight of ³  the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. 21:21 He followed in the footsteps of his father ⁴  and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols ⁵  which his father had worshiped. ⁶  21:22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. ⁷  21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 21:24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they ⁸  made his son Josiah king in his place.

21:25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ⁹  21:26 He was buried ¹⁰  in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.

2 Kings 21:2

21:2 He did evil in the sight of ¹¹  the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations ¹²  whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.

2 Kings 1:1

Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders

1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. ¹³ 

[21:19]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:19]  ² tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

[21:20]  ³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[21:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”

[21:21]  ⁵ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

[21:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”

[21:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the Lord.”

[21:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.

[21:25]  ⁹ tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew mss have וְכָל (vÿcol), “and all,” before אֲשֶׁר (’asher). In this case we can translate, “As for the rest of the events of Amon’s reign, and all his accomplishments,….”

[21:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he buried him.” Here “he” probably refers to Amon’s son Josiah.

[21:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[21:2]  ¹² tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”

[1:1]  ¹³ sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.