Jotham King of Judah

¹Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother’s name was Jerusha. She was the daughter of Zadok. ² Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham didn’t enter the Lord’s temple as Uzziah had done. The people, however, continued to do very sinful things. ³ Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple. He did a lot of work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. ⁴ He built towns in the hill country of Judah. He also built forts and towers in areas that had a lot of trees in them.

⁵ Jotham went to war against the king of Ammon. He won the battle over the Ammonites. That year they paid Jotham almost four tons of silver. They paid him 1,800 tons of wheat and 1,500 tons of barley. They also brought him the same amount in the second and third years.

⁶ Jotham became powerful. That’s because he had worshiped the Lord his God with all his heart.

⁷ The other events of Jotham’s rule are written down. That includes all his wars and the other things he did. All these things are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. ⁹ Jotham joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Jotham’s son Ahaz became the next king after him.