Knox Bible

1

It was in the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam that Azarias succeeded his father Amasias on the throne of Juda.

2

He was then sixteen years old, and for fifty years he reigned at Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Jechelia, a woman of Jerusalem.

3

He obeyed the Lord’s will, following in all things the example of his father Amasias,

4

but did not destroy the hill-shrines; men still sacrificed and burned incense on the mountain tops.

5

On him the Lord’s hand fell, and he ended his days as a leper, dwelling apart in a house of his own, while his son Joatham had charge of the palace, and heard the complaints of his subjects.

6

What else Azarias did, all his history, is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Juda.

7

So he was laid to rest with his fathers; among his ancestors, in the Keep of David, they buried him; and Joatham came to the throne.

8

It was in Azarias’ thirty-eighth year that Jeroboam’s son Zacharias began his reign in Samaria; it lasted six months.

9

He defied the Lord’s will, like his fathers before him, and would not forgo the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, that taught Israel to sin.

10

But soon a conspiracy was made against him by Sellum, son of Jabes, who attacked and killed him in the open street, and took the throne for himself.✻

11

What else Zacharias did is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Israel.

12

Long before, in Jehu’s time, the Lord had promised, Thy heirs shall keep the throne of Israel till the fourth generation; and so it proved.

13

For one month this Sellum reigned as king at Samaria, in the thirty-ninth year of Azarias;

14

then he was killed and superseded by Menahem, son of Gadi, who marched on Samaria from Thersa;

15

what else Sellum did, all the history of his secret conspiracy, is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Israel.

16

(From Thersa),✻ Menahem brought destruction on Thapsa, and all its inhabitants, and all their country-side, because they would not open the gates to him; ripped up the wombs, too, of the women that were pregnant.

17

It was in Azarias’ thirty-ninth year that Menahem, son of Gadi, began his reign of ten years at Samaria;

18

he defied the Lord’s will, and would not forgo the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, that taught Israel to sin. All through his reign

19

the country suffered invasion by Phul, king of Assyria, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver, to win support for his claim to the throne.

20

To find this tribute for the Assyrian king, Menahem imposed a tax of fifty silver pieces on all the rich and powerful men in his kingdom. Thus the Assyrian king was induced to go home and rid the country of his presence.

21

What else Menahem did, all his history, is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Israel;

22

he was laid to rest with his fathers, and succeeded by his son Phaceia.

23

It was in the fiftieth year of Azarias that this Phaceia, son of Menahem, began his reign of two years at Samaria;

24

he defied the Lord’s will, and would not forgo the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, that taught Israel to sin.

25

A conspiracy was made against him by one of his own commanders, Phacee son of Romelia, who attacked and slew him in his castle keep (close by Argob and Arie), with fifty Galaadites, and so became king in his place.✻

26

What else Phaceia did, all his history, is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Israel.

27

It was in the fifty-second year of Azarias that Phacee, son of Romelia, came to the throne at Samaria; he reigned over Israel twenty years,

28

and defied the Lord’s will, never forgoing the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, that taught Israel to sin.

29

During the reign of Phacee, the Assyrian king Theglath-Phalasar invaded Israel, taking Aion, Abel-Beth-Maacha, Janoe, Cedes and Asor, with Galaad and Galilee and the whole territory of Nephthali, and carrying off their inhabitants into Assyria.

30

As for Phacee, he was caught unawares and slain by a conspirator, Osee son of Ela, who succeeded him on the throne in the twentieth year of Joatham, son of Ozias.

31

What else Phacee did, all his history, is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Israel.

32

It was in the second year of Phacee, son of Romelia, that Joatham, son of Ozias, came to the throne of Juda.

33

He was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne, and his reign at Jerusalem lasted sixteen years; his mother’s name was Jerusa, daughter of Sadoc.

34

He obeyed the Lord’s will, following in all things the example of his father Ozias;

35

but did not abolish the hill-shrines; men still sacrificed and offered incense on the mountain-tops. He it was built the high gate that leads into the Lord’s house.

36

What else Joatham did, all his history, is to be found in the Annals of the kings of Juda.

37

This was the time at which the Lord began subjecting Juda to attack from Rasin, king of Syria, and Phacee, son of Romelia.

38

So Joatham was laid to rest with his fathers, with the Keep of David for his burying-place, and the throne passed to his son Achaz.