15. As a result, the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent a prophet to him."Why do you seek the gods of this people?" the prophet asked. "They couldn’t even deliver their own people from you!"
16. "Since when do you give me advice?" Amaziah interrupted. "You better quit before you end up dead!"So the prophet stopped, but not until he said, "I know God plans to destroy you because you’ve done this and because you’ve refused to listen to my advice."
17. After Judah’s King Amaziah consulted with his advisors, he sent a challenge to Israel’s King Joash, Jehoahaz’s son and Jehu’s grandson. "Come on," he said, "let’s go head-to-head!"
18. Israel’s King Joash sent the following reply to Judah’s King Amaziah: "Once upon a time, a thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar: ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ But then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.
19. Do you think that because you’ve defeated Edom, you can arrogantly seek even more? Stay home! Why invite disaster when both you and Judah will fall?"