2 Chronicles 24

1 Joash was seven when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

Joash was seven years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Zibiah, from Beersheba.

2 Joash did what was right in the Lord's sight during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.

And he did what is good before the Lord during all the days of Jehoiada, the priest.

3 Jehoiada arranged for him to marry two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

Now Jehoiada gave to him two wives, from whom he conceived sons and daughters.

4 Some time later, Joash decided to repair the Lord's Temple.

After these things, it pleased Joash to repair the house of the Lord.

5 He summoned the priests and Levites and told them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the yearly dues from everyone in Israel to repair the Temple of your God. Do it right away.” But the Levites did not go right away.

And he gathered together the priests and Levites, and he said to them: “Go out to the cities of Judah, and collect from all of Israel money to repair the surfaces of the temple of your God, throughout each year. And do this promptly.” But the Levites acted negligently.

6 So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and asked him, “Why haven't you ordered the Levites to collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax that Moses, the Lord's servant, and the assembly of Israel imposed to maintain the Tent of the Law?”

And the king summoned Jehoiada, the leader, and he said to him: “Why was there no concern with you, so that you would compel the Levites to bring, from Judah and from Jerusalem, the money that was appointed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, so as to bring it, from the entire multitude of Israel, to the tabernacle of the testimony?

7 (The supporters of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into God's Temple and had stolen the holy objects of the Lord's Temple and used them to worship the Baals.)

For that very impious woman Athaliah and her sons have destroyed the house of God, and they have adorned the shrine of Baal from all the things that had been sanctified in the temple of the Lord.”

8 The king ordered a collection chest to be made and placed outside the entrance to the Lord's Temple.

Therefore, the king instructed, and they made an ark. And they placed it beside the gate of the house of the Lord, on the outside.

9 A decree was proclaimed throughout Judea and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the Lord's servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness.

And they proclaimed, in Judah and Jerusalem, that each one should bring to the Lord the money that Moses, the servant of God, appointed in the desert, concerning all of Israel.

10 All the leaders and all the people were glad to do so and brought their taxes. They dropped them in the chest until it was full.

And all the leaders and all the people rejoiced. And upon entering, they together took and placed so much into the ark of the Lord that it was filled.

11 Every so often the Levites took the chest to the king's officials. When they saw that it contained a large amount of money, the king's secretary and the chief officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest. Then they would carry it back to its place. They did this every day and collected a great deal of money.

And when it was time for them to bring the ark before the king by the hands of the Levites, for they saw that there was much money, the scribe of the king, and the one whom the high priest had appointed, entered. And they poured out the money that was in the ark. Then they carried the ark back to its place. And they did this on each day. And an immense sum of money was gathered.

12 Then the king and Jehoiada would allocate the money of those supervising the work on the Lord's Temple to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the Lord's Temple and craftsmen in iron and bronze to repair the Lord's Temple.

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who were in charge of the works of the house of the Lord. Then with it they hired hewers of stone, and artisans of every kind, so that they might repair the house of the Lord, and also so that the works of iron and of brass, which had begun to fall, would be reinforced.

13 The men doing the repairs worked hard and made good progress. They restored God's Temple to its original condition and strengthened it.

And those who were hired were working industriously. And the breach in the walls was healed by their hands. And they returned the house of the Lord to a pristine state. And they caused it stand firm.

14 When they finished, they returned the money that was left to the king and Jehoiada, and with it utensils were made for the Lord's Temple, both for the worship services and for the burnt offerings, also bowls for incense and vessels of gold and silver. Burnt offerings were regularly offered in the Lord's Temple regularly throughout Jehoiada's lifetime.

And when they had completed all the works, they brought the remaining part of the money before the king and Jehoiada. And from it, the vessels of the temple were made, for the ministry and for the holocausts, including bowls and other vessels of gold and silver. And holocausts were being offered in the house of the Lord continually, during all the days of Jehoiada.

15 Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130, having lived a full life.

But Jehoiada was old and full of days. And he died when he was one hundred thirty years old.

16 He was buried with the kings in the City of David, for all the good he had done in Israel for God and his Temple.

And they buried him in the City of David, with the kings, because he had done good to Israel and to his house.

17 But after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came to swear their loyalty to the king, and he listened to their advice.

Then, after Jehoiada passed away, the leaders of Judah entered and reverenced the king. And he was enticed by their obsequiousness, and so he acquiesced to them.

18 They abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their forefathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Judah and Jerusalem were punished because of their sin.

And they abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and they served sacred groves and graven images. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this sin.

19 The Lord sent prophets to bring the people back to him and to warn them; but they refused to listen.

And he sent prophets to them, so that they might return to the Lord. And though they were offering testimony, they were not willing to listen to them.

20 Then the Spirit of God came to Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and told them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you break the Lord's commandments so that you cannot be successful? Since you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’”

And so the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. And he stood in the sight of the people, and he said to them: “Thus says the Lord God: Why have you transgressed the precept of the Lord, though it was not to your benefit, and why have you abandoned the Lord, so that he would then abandon you?”

21 Then the leaders hatched a plot to kill Zechariah, and on the orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord's Temple.

And gathering together against him, they stoned him, beside the place of the king, in the atrium of the house of the Lord.

22 King Joash showed he had forgotten all about the loyalty and love shown to him by Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, by killing his son. As he died, Zechariah cried out, “May the Lord see what you've done and pay you back!”

And king Joash did not remember the mercy with which Jehoiada, his father, had treated him; instead he put to death his son. And as he was dying, he said: “May the Lord see and take account.”

23 At the end of the year, the Aramean army came to attack Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the people's leaders, and sent all their plunder back to the king of Damascus.

And when a year had turned, the army of Syria ascended against him. And they went to Judah and Jerusalem. And they put to death all the leaders of the people. And they sent all the spoils to the king of Damascus.

24 Even though the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord gave them the victory over a very large army, because Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their forefathers. In this way they punished Joash.

And although certainly there had arrived a very small number of Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an immense multitude. For they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Also, against Joash they executed disgraceful judgments.

25 When the Arameans departed, they left Joash badly wounded. But then his own officers plotted against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the cemetery of the kings.

And upon departing, they left him greatly debilitated. Then his servants rose up against him, in vengeance for the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest. And they killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings.

26 Those who plotted against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman.

Truly, those who ambushed him were Zabad, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shimrith.

27 The story of the sons of Joash, as well as the many prophecies about him and about the restoration of God's Temple, are recorded in the Commentary on the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah took over as king.

But concerning his sons, and the sum of money that had been amassed under him, and the repairing of the house of God, these things have been written more diligently in the book of kings. Then his son, Amaziah, reigned in his place.