King Jotham of Judah

(2 Kings 15.32-38)

1Jotham was 25 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. Jerushah his mother was the daughter of Zadok.

2Jotham obeyed the Lord and did right. He followed the example of his father Uzziah, except he never burned incense in the temple as his father had done. But the people of Judah kept sinning against the Lord.

3Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple and did a lot of work to repair the wall near Mount Ophel. 4He built towns in the mountains of Judah and built fortresses and defense towers in the forests.

5During his rule he attacked and defeated the Ammonites. Then every year for the next three years, he forced them to pay 3.4 tons of silver, 1,000 tons of wheat, and 1,000 tons of barley.

6Jotham remained faithful to the Lord his God and became a very powerful king.

7Everything else Jotham did while he was king, including the wars he fought, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8After he had ruled Judah 16 years, he died at the age of 41. 9He was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.