1. Amaziah became king at the age of 25, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.
2. He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but did it reluctantly.
3. As soon as he was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had murdered his father.
4. He did not, however, execute their children, but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: “Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; a person is to be put to death only for a crime he himself has committed.”
5. King Amaziah organized all the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin into army units, according to the clans they belonged to, and placed officers in command of units of a thousand and units of a hundred. This included all men twenty years of age or older, 300,000 in all. They were picked troops, ready for battle, skilled in using spears and shields.
6. In addition, he hired 100,000 soldiers from Israel at a cost of about 3.4 tonnes of silver.
7. But a prophet went to the king and said to him, “Don't take these Israelite soldiers with you. The Lord is not with these troops from the Northern Kingdom.
8. You may think that they will make you stronger in battle, but it is God who has the power to give victory or defeat, and he will let your enemies defeat you.”
9. Amaziah asked the prophet, “But what about all that silver I have already paid for them?”The prophet replied, “The Lord can give you back more than that!”