Second Book of Kings 15

¹ In the seventeenth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah.

² He was sixteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah, of Jerusalem.

³ He did what is pleasing to Yahweh, just as his father Amaziah had done.

⁴ The high places, however, were not abolished, and the people still offered sacrifices and incense on the high places.

⁵ But Yahweh struck the king, and he became a leper till his dying day. He lived confined to his room; his son Jotham was master of the palace and ruled the country.

⁶ The rest of the history of Uzziah, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?

⁷ Then Uzziah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the Citadel of David; his son Jotham succeeded him.

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria for six months.

⁹ He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, as his fathers had done; he did not give up the sins into which Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel.

¹⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh plotted against him, murdered him at Ibleam, and succeeded him.

¹¹ The rest of the history of Zechariah is recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

¹² It happened as Yahweh had said to Jehu, ‘Your sons will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation’. And so it turned out.

¹³ Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and reigned for one month in Samaria.

¹⁴ Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, entered Samaria, murdered Shallum son of Jabesh there, and succeeded him.

¹⁵ The rest of the history of Shallum, and the plot he hatched, all this is recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

¹⁶ It was at that time that Menahem sacked Tappush – killing all who were in it – and its territory from Tirzah onwards, because it had not opened its gates to him; he sacked the town and ripped open all the pregnant women.

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gad became king of Israel. He reigned for ten years in Samaria.

¹⁸ He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, he did not give up the sins into which Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel. In his times,

¹⁹ Pul[*a] king of Assyria invaded the country, Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in return for his support in strengthening his hold on the royal power.

²⁰ Menahem levied this sum from Israel, from all the men of rank, at the rate of fifty shekels a head, to be given to the king of Assyria, who then withdrew, and did not stay in the country.

²¹ The rest of the history of Menahem, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

²² Then Menahem slept with his ancestors; his son Pekahiah succeeded him.

²³ In the fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria. He reigned for two years.

²⁴ He did what is displeasing to Yahweh; he did not give up the sins into which Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel.

²⁵ Pekah son of Remaliah, his equerry, plotted against him and struck him down in Samaria, in the keep of the royal palace . . . He had fifty men of Gilead with him. He killed the king, and succeeded him.

²⁶ The rest of the history of Pekahiah, his entire career, all this is recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Uzziah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria. He reigned for twenty years.

²⁸ He did what is displeasing to Yahweh; he did not give up the sins into which Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and deported the population to Assyria.[*b]

³⁰ Hoshea son of Elah hatched a plot against Pekah son of Remaliah; he murdered the king, and succeeded him.

³¹ The rest of the history of Pekah, and his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

³² In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.

³³ He was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok.

³⁴ He did what is pleasing to Yahweh, just as his father Uzziah had done.

³⁵ The high places, however, were not abolished, and the people still offered sacrifices and incense on the high places. It was he who built the Upper Gate of the Temple of Yahweh.

³⁶ The rest of the history of Jotham, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?

³⁷ At that time, Yahweh began sending Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.

³⁸ Then Jotham slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the Citadel of David, his ancestor; his son Ahaz succeeded him.