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King Amaziah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 25.1-24)

14 Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah in the second year of Jehoash's rule in Israel. Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled 29 years from Jerusalem, which was also the hometown of his mother Jehoaddin.

Amaziah followed the example of his father Joash by obeying the Lord and doing right. But he was not as faithful as his ancestor David. Amaziah did not destroy the local shrines, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

As soon as Amaziah had control of Judah, he arrested and killed the officers who had murdered his father. (A) But the children of those officers were not killed. The Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses that only the people who sinned were to be punished, not their parents or children.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 14.6 The Lord had commanded … children: See Deuteronomy 24.16.

Amaziah King of Judah(A)(B)

14 In the second year of Jehoash[a] son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. In everything he followed the example of his father Joash. The high places,(C) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

After the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed(D) the officials(E) who had murdered his father the king. Yet he did not put the children of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law(F) of Moses where the Lord commanded: “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.”[b](G)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 14:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash; also in verses 13, 23 and 27
  2. 2 Kings 14:6 Deut. 24:16