141 In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel , Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king . 2 He was twenty-five e years old when he became king , and he reigned twenty-nine e years in Jerusalem . And his mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem . 3 He did right in the sight of the Lord , yet not like David his father ; he did according to all that Joash his father had done . 4 Only the high places were not taken away ; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places . 5 Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand , that he killed his servants who had slain the king his father . 6 But the sons of the slayers he did not put to death , according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses , as the Lord commanded , saying , " The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons , nor the sons be put to death for the fathers ; but each shall be put to death for his own sin ." 7 He killed of Edom in the Valley of Salt 10,000 e and took Sela by war , and named e it Joktheel to this day .
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash , the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu , king of Israel , saying , " Come , let us face e each other." 9 Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah , saying , " The thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon , saying , 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage .' But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon , and trampled the thorn bush . 10 " You have indeed defeated Edom , and your heart has become proud . Enjoy your glory and stay at home ; for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall , and Judah with you?" 11 But Amaziah would not listen . So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced e each other at Beth-shemesh , which belongs to Judah . 12 Judah was defeated by Israel , and they fled each 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 came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate , 400 e cubits . 14 He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of the Lord , and in the treasuries of the king's house , the hostages also, and returned to Samaria .
15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did , and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah , are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles e of the Kings of Israel ? 16 So Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel ; and Jeroboam his son became king in his place . 17 Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen e years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 14:1-17
Commentary on 2 Kings 14:1-7
(Read 2 Kings 14:1-7)
Amaziah began well, but did not go on so. It is not enough to do that which our pious predecessors did, merely to keep up the common usage, but we must do it as they did, from the same principle of faith and devotion, and with the same sincerity and resolution.
Commentary on 2 Kings 14:8-14
(Read 2 Kings 14:8-14)
For some time after the division of the kingdoms, Judah suffered much from the enmity of Israel. After Asa's time, it suffered more by the friendship of Israel, and by the alliance made with them. Now we meet with hostility between them again. How may a humble man smile to hear two proud and scornful men set their wits on work, to vilify and undervalue one another! Unholy success excites pride; pride excites contentions. The effects of pride in others, are insufferable to those who are proud themselves. These are the sources of trouble and sin in private life; but when they arise between princes, they become the misery of their whole kingdoms. Jehoash shows Amaziah the folly of his challenge; Thine heart has lifted thee up. The root of all sin is in the heart, thence it flows. It is not Providence, the event, the occasion, whatever it is, that makes men proud, secure, discontented, or the like, but their own hearts do it.
Commentary on 2 Kings 14:15-22
(Read 2 Kings 14:15-22)
Amaziah survived his conqueror fifteen years. He was slain by his own subjects. Azariah, or Uzziah, seems to have been very young when his father was slain. Though the years of his reign are reckoned from that event, he was not fully made king till eleven years afterwards.