Study Desk

And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not;

And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.

And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and as He promised to give a lamp to him and to his children alway.

behold, the LORD will smite with a great plague thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance;

But he put not their children to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as the LORD commanded, saying: 'The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.'

But there came a man of God to him, saying: 'O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, even with all the children of Ephraim.

And Amaziah took courage, and led forth his people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand.

And other ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them unto the top of the Rock, and cast them down from the top of the Rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and prostrated himself before them, and offered unto them.

He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render unto him, in the second year also, and in the third.

Moreover he offered in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

And now ye purpose to bring the children of Judah and Jerusalem into subjection for bondmen and bondwomen unto you; but are there not even with you acts of guilt of your own against the LORD your God?

Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Jehohanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,

So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying: 'Ye children of Israel, turn back unto the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to the remnant that are escaped of you out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.

For if ye turn back unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that led them captive, and shall come back into this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away His face from you, if ye return unto Him.'

And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD.