When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father.
Parallel translations
- WEB As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father,
- KJV And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father.
- BSB As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
- NKJV Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.
- NASB Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he killed his servants who had killed the king, his father.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Once secure on the throne, Amaziah executed the officials who had murdered his father, the previous king.
Overview
Having established his rule, Amaziah brought his father's assassins to justice (cf. 12:20-21), exercising lawful royal authority. The act shows order being restored and bloodguilt being addressed in the kingdom. How he carries out this justice, in the next verse, reveals his commitment to God's law over the customs of the day.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Chr 25:3–4Now when the kingdom was established to him, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king.
- Num 35:33“‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.
- 2 Kgs 12:20–21His servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.
- Exod 21:12–14“One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death,
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 14:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.