2 Kings 15:8-36

⁸After Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost thirty-eight years, Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam #2, became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria city for only six months.

⁹He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, like his ancestors had done. He committed the same kind of sins that Jeroboam #1 had committed, sins which led the Israeli people to sin.

¹⁰Then Shallum, the son of Jabesh, made plans to assassinate Zechariah. He killed him at Ibleam town, and then he became the king.

¹¹Everything else that Zechariah did is written in the scroll called ❛The History of the Kings of Israel❜.

¹²When Zechariah died, that ended the dynasty of King Jehu. That fulfilled what Yahweh said to King Jehu would happen: “Your son and grandson and great-grandson and great-great-grandson will all be kings of Israel.”

¹³Shallum, the son of Jabesh, became the king of Israel after King Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost thirty-nine years. But Shallum ruled in Samaria for only one month.

¹⁴Then Menahem, the son of Gadi, went up from Tirzah city to Samaria and assassinated Shallum. Then Menahem became the king of Israel.

¹⁵Everything else that Shallum did, including his killing King Zechariah, is written in the scroll called ❛The History of the Kings of Israel❜.

¹⁶While Menahem was ruling in Samaria, he completely destroyed Tappuah village south of Samaria and killed all the people who lived there and in the surrounding territory. He did that because the people in that city refused to surrender to him. With his sword he even ripped open the bellies of pregnant women.

¹⁷When King Azariah had been ruling Judah for almost thirty-nine years, Menahem, the son of Gadi, became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for ten years.

¹⁸He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He committed the same kinds of sins that King Jeroboam #1 had committed, sins that led the people of Israel to sin. He continued to commit those sins for the rest of his life.

¹⁹Then King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria came with his army to attack Israel. So Menahem gave him ◄thirty-eight tons/35,000 kg.► of silver in order that Tiglath-Pileser would help Menahem to continue to be king and rule his country more strongly.

²⁰Menahem obtained that money from the rich men in Israel. He compelled each of them to contribute fifty pieces of silver. So Tiglath-Pileser took that money and went back home.

²¹If you want to know more about everything that Menahem did, it is written RHQ in the scroll called ❛The History of the Kings of Israel❜.

²²Menahem died EUP and was buried, and his son Pekahiah became the king of Israel.

²³When King Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost fifty years, Menahem's son Pekahiah became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for only two years.

²⁴He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He committed the same kind of sins that King Jeroboam #1 had committed, sins which led the people of Israel to sin.

²⁵Then one of Pekahiah's army commanders whose name was Pekah, the son of Remaliah, planned with fifty men from the Gilead region to kill Pekahiah. They assassinated him in a fortified place in the king's palace in Samaria. Then Pekah became the king.

²⁶Everything else that Pekahiah did is written in the scroll called ❛The History of the Kings of Israel❜.

²⁷When King Uzziah had been ruling Judah for almost 52 years, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for twenty years.

²⁸He also did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He committed the same kind of sins that King Jeroboam #1 had committed, sins that led the people of Israel to sin.

²⁹While Pekah was the king, Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, came with his army and captured the cities of Ijon, Abel-Beth-Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, and the regions of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali. His army forced the Israeli people to leave their country and go to live in Assyria.

³⁰Then Hoshea, the son of Elah, plotted to kill Pekah. He assassinated him when Uzziah's son Jotham had been ruling Judah for almost twenty years. Then Hoshea became the king of Israel.

³¹Everything else that Pekah did is written in the scroll called ❛The History of the Kings of Israel❜.

³²When Pekah had been ruling Israel for almost two years, Uzziah's son Jotham began to rule Judah.

³³He was 25 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled from Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴He did many things that pleased Yahweh, like his father Uzziah had done.

³⁵But he did not destroy the places on the tops of hills where the people worshiped Yahweh, and the people continued to burn incense there to honor Yahweh. Jotham's workers built the Upper Gate of the temple.

³⁶If you want to know more about everything else that Jotham did, it is written RHQ in the scroll called ❛The History of the Kings of Judah❜.