2 Chronicles 24

1 Seven years old, was Joash when he began to reign, and, forty years, reigned he, in Jerusalem, —and, the name of his mother, was Zibiah, of Beersheba.

Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he was ruling for forty years in Jerusalem: his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

2 And Joash did that which was right, in the eyes of Yahweh, -all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was living.

3 And Jehoiada took for him two wives, —and he begat sons and daughters.

And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

4 And it came to pass, after this, that it was near the heart of Joash to renew the house of Yahweh.

Now after this Joash had a desire to put the house of the Lord into good order again;

5 So he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said unto them—Go ye out unto the cities of Judah, and gather out of all Israel silver to repair the house of your God, year by year, and, ye, shall hasten the matter, —but the Levites hastened it not.

And getting together the priests and Levites, he said to them, Go out into the towns of Judah year by year, and get from all Israel money to keep the house of your God in good condition; and see that this is done without loss of time. The Levites, however, were slow in doing so.

6 Then the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Wherefore hast thou not required of the Levites, to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tribute of Moses the servant of Yahweh, and of the convocation of Israel, —for the tent of testimony?

Then the king sent for Jehoiada, the chief priest, and said to him, Why have you not given the Levites orders that the tax fixed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and by the meeting of Israel, for the Tent of witness, is to be got in from Judah and Jerusalem and handed over?

7 For, as for Athaliah the Lawless, her sons, brake up the House of God, —moreover, all the hallowed things of the house of Yahweh, offered they unto the Baalim.

For the house of the Lord had been broken up by Athaliah, that evil woman, and her sons; and all its holy things they had given to the Baals.

8 So the king bade [them], and they made a certain chest, —and set it in the gate of the house of Yahweh, outside.

So at the king's order they made a chest and put it outside the doorway of the house of the Lord.

9 And they made a proclamation, throughout Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in unto Yahweh the tribute of Moses the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the desert.

And an order was sent out through all Judah and Jerusalem that payment was to be made to the Lord of the tax which Moses, the servant of God, had put on Israel in the waste land.

10 And all the rulers and all the people rejoiced, —and brought in and cast into the chest, until they had finished.

And all the chiefs and all the people came gladly and put their money into the chest, till they had all given.

11 And it came to pass, what time the chest was brought into the office of the king by the hand of the Levites, and when they had seen that abundant was the silver, that the scribe of the king came in, and the officer of the chief priest, and they emptied the chest, and bare it, and put it back in its place, —thus, they did, day by day, and collected silver, in abundance;

So when the chest was taken to the king's servants by the Levites, and they saw that there was much money in it, the king's scribe and the chief priest's servant took the money out, and put the chest back in its place. They did this day by day, and got together a great amount of money.

12 and the king and Jehoiada gave it unto such as were doing the work of labouring upon the house of Yahweh, and they were hiring masons and carpenters, to renew the house of Yahweh, —moreover also, such as were fashioners of iron and bronze, to repair the house of Yahweh.

Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who were responsible for getting the work done on the Lord's house, and with it they got wall-builders and woodworkers and metal-workers to put the house of the Lord in good order again.

13 So the doers of the work wrought, and the work of restoration went forward, in their hand, —and they caused the house of God to stand forth according to its due proportions, and made it strong.

So the workmen did their work, making good what was damaged and building up the house of God till it was strong and beautiful again.

14 And, when they had finished, they brought in before the king and Jehoiada the rest of the silver, and he made it into utensils for the house of Yahweh, utensils of attendance, and bowls and spoons, even utensils of gold and silver. Then were they offering ascending-sacrifices in the house of Yahweh, continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

And when the work was done, they took the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and it was used for making the vessels for the house of the Lord, all the vessels needed for the offerings, the spoons and the vessels of gold and silver. And as long as Jehoiada was living, the regular burned offerings were offered in the house of the Lord.

15 But Jehoiada waxed old and became satisfied with days, and died, —a hundred and thirty years old, when he died.

But Jehoiada became old and full of days, and he came to his end; he was a hundred and thirty years old at the time of his death.

16 And they buried him in the city of David, with the kings, —because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and his house.

And they put him into his last resting-place in the town of David, among the kings, because he had done good in Israel for God and for his house.

17 Now, after the death of Jehoiada, came the rulers of Judah, and bowed themselves down unto the king, —then, hearkened the king unto them.

Now after the death of Jehoiada, the chiefs of Judah came and went down on their faces before the king. Then the king gave ear to them.

18 And they forsook the house of Yahweh, God of their fathers, and served the Sacred Stems, and the images, —so there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem, for this their guilt.

And they gave up the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and became worshippers of pillars of wood and of the images; and because of this sin of theirs, wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem.

19 And he sent among them prophets, to bring them back unto Yahweh, —and they testified against them, but they would not give ear.

And the Lord sent them prophets to make them come back to him; and they gave witness against them, but they would not give ear.

20 And, the spirit of God, clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and he took his stand above the people, —and said unto them, Thus, saith God, Wherefore are, ye, transgressing the commandments of Yahweh, so that ye cannot prosper, because ye have forsaken Yahweh, therefore hath he forsaken you.

Then the spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, and, getting up before the people, he said to them, God has said, Why do you go against the orders of the Lord, so that everything goes badly for you? because you have given up the Lord, he has given you up.

21 So they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones, by the commandment of the king, —in the court of the house of Yahweh.

But when they had made a secret design against him, he was stoned with stones, by the king's order, in the outer square of the Lord's house.

22 Thus Joash the king, remembered not, the lovingkindness which Jehoiada his father had done for him, but slew his son, —and, as he died, he said, Yahweh see and require!

So King Joash did not keep in mind how good Jehoiada his father had been to him, but put his son to death. And in the hour of his death he said, May the Lord see it and take payment!

23 And it came to pass, when the year had gone round, that the force of Syria came up against him, and they entered Judah, and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the rulers of the people, from among the people, —and, all the spoil of them, sent they unto the king of Damascus.

Now in the spring, the army of the Aramaeans came up against him; they came against Judah and Jerusalem, putting to death all the great men of the people and sending all the goods they took from them to the king of Damascus.

24 Although, with a comparatively few men, came the force of Syria, yet, Yahweh, delivered into their hand an exceeding large force, —because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers, —and, upon Joash, executed they judgments.

For though the army of Aram was only a small one, the Lord gave a very great army into their hands, because they had given up the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they put into effect the punishment of Joash.

25 And, when they had departed from him, for they left him with sore diseases, his own servants conspired against him, for the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him upon his bed, and he died, —and, though they buried him in the city of David, yet did they not bury him in the sepulchres of the kings.

And when they had gone away from him, (for he was broken with disease, ) his servants made a secret design against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they put him to death on his bed; and they put his body into the earth in the town of David, but not in the resting-place of the kings.

26 Now, these, are they that conspired against him, —Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

Those who made designs against him were Zabad, the son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman.

27 But, as for his sons, and the greatness of the oracle on him, and the foundation of the house of God, lo! there they are written, in the commentary of the Book of Kings, —and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Now the story of his sons, and all the words said by the prophet against him, and the building up again of the Lord's house, are recorded in the account in the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son became king in his place.