16. Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah, everyone there, and its territory. Because the city didn’t open its gates for him, he attacked it and ripped open all its pregnant women.
17. In Azariah’s thirty-ninth year as king of Judah, Menahem, son of Gadi, began to rule as king of Israel. He ruled for 10 years in Samaria.
18. He did what the Lord considered evil. During his entire life he never turned away from the sins that Jer o boam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit.
19. King Pul of Assyria came to ⌊attack⌋ the country. So Menahem gave Pul 75,000 pounds of silver to gain his support and help strengthen his hold on the kingdom.