2 Kings — Chapter 14

But the sons of the murderers he slew not: according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying: The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. Lapide: Amaziah's refusal to execute the children of his father's murderers shows adherence to the law of Deuteronomy (xxiv.16). The principle is that guilt is personal, not hereditary in the temporal forum. This is a model of justice for princes.