^3 (A)Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.

²⁵ And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), ^(A)his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[a]sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶ These are the ones who conspired against him: ^[b]Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of ^[c]Shimrith the Moabitess.

⁵ Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants ^(A)who had murdered his father the king. ⁶ But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, saying, ^(B)“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”

^7 (C)He killed ten thousand Edomites in ^(D)the Valley of Salt, and took ^[a]Sela by war, ^(E)and called its name Joktheel to this day.

^8 (F)Then Amaziah sent messengers to ^[b]Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.” ⁹ And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, ^(G)“The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the ^(H)cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. ¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom, and ^(I)your heart has ^[c]lifted you up. Glory in that, and stay at home; for why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out; so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at ^(J)Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. ¹³ Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh; and he went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from ^(K)the Gate of Ephraim to ^(L)the Corner Gate—^[d]four hundred cubits. ¹⁴ And he took all ^(M)the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

^15 (N)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did—his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ So Jehoash ^[e]rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

^17 (O)Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹ And ^(P)they formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to ^(Q)Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁰ Then they brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David.

²¹ And all the people of Judah took ^(R)Azariah,^[f] who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ²² He built ^(S)Elath^[g] and restored it to Judah, after ^[h]the king rested with his fathers.

³¹ Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. ³² And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. ³³ So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood ^(A)defiles the land, and no ^[a]atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except ^(B)by the blood of him who shed it.

¹⁴ “But if a man acts with ^(A)premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, ^(B)you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; ^(A)from the hand of every beast I will require it, and ^(B)from the hand of man. From the hand of every ^(C)man’s brother I will require the life of man.