歷代志下 24

1 約阿施登基的時候年七歲，在耶路撒冷作王四十年。他母親名叫西比亞，是別是巴人。

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 祭司耶何耶大在世的時候，約阿施行耶和華眼中看為正的事。

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

3 耶何耶大為他娶了兩個妻，並且生兒養女。

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

4 此後，約阿施有意重修耶和華的殿，

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

5 便召聚眾祭司和利未人，吩咐他們說：「你們要往猶大各城去，使以色列眾人捐納銀子，每年可以修理你們上帝的殿；你們要急速辦理這事。」只是利未人不急速辦理。

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 王召了大祭司耶何耶大來，對他說：「從前耶和華的僕人摩西，為法櫃的帳幕與以色列會眾所定的捐項，你為何不叫利未人照這例從猶大和耶路撒冷帶來作殿的費用呢？」（

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 因為那惡婦亞她利雅的眾子曾拆毀上帝的殿，又用耶和華殿中分別為聖的物供奉巴力。）

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 於是王下令，眾人做了一櫃，放在耶和華殿的門外，

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

9 又通告猶大和耶路撒冷的百姓，要將上帝僕人摩西在曠野所吩咐以色列人的捐項給耶和華送來。

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 眾首領和百姓都歡歡喜喜地將銀子送來，投入櫃中，直到捐完。

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

11 利未人見銀子多了，就把櫃抬到王所派的司事面前；王的書記和大祭司的屬員來將櫃倒空，仍放在原處。日日都是這樣，積蓄的銀子甚多。

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 王與耶何耶大將銀子交給耶和華殿裏辦事的人，他們就雇了石匠、木匠重修耶和華的殿，又雇了鐵匠、銅匠修理耶和華的殿。

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 工人操作，漸漸修成，將上帝殿修造得與從前一樣，而且甚是堅固。

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 工程完了，他們就把其餘的銀子拿到王與耶何耶大面前，用以製造耶和華殿供奉所用的器皿和調羹，並金銀的器皿。 耶何耶大在世的時候，眾人常在耶和華殿裏獻燔祭。

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 耶何耶大年紀老邁，日子滿足而死。死的時候年一百三十歲，

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 葬在大衛城列王的墳墓裏；因為他在以色列人中行善，又事奉上帝，修理上帝的殿。

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 耶何耶大死後，猶大的眾首領來朝拜王；王就聽從他們。

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 他們離棄耶和華－他們列祖上帝的殿，去事奉亞舍拉和偶像；因他們這罪，就有忿怒臨到猶大和耶路撒冷。

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 但上帝仍遣先知到他們那裏，引導他們歸向耶和華。這先知警戒他們，他們卻不肯聽。

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 那時，上帝的靈感動祭司耶何耶大的兒子撒迦利亞，他就站在上面對民說：「上帝如此說：你們為何干犯耶和華的誡命，以致不得亨通呢？因為你們離棄耶和華，所以他也離棄你們。」

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 眾民同心謀害撒迦利亞，就照王的吩咐，在耶和華殿的院內用石頭打死他。

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 這樣，約阿施王不想念撒迦利亞的父親耶何耶大向自己所施的恩，殺了他的兒子。撒迦利亞臨死的時候說：「願耶和華鑒察伸冤！」

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 滿了一年，亞蘭的軍兵上來攻擊約阿施，來到猶大和耶路撒冷，殺了民中的眾首領，將所掠的財貨送到大馬士革王那裏。

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 亞蘭的軍兵雖來了一小隊，耶和華卻將大隊的軍兵交在他們手裏，是因猶大人離棄耶和華－他們列祖的上帝，所以藉亞蘭人懲罰約阿施。

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 亞蘭人離開約阿施的時候，他患重病；臣僕背叛他，要報祭司耶何耶大兒子流血之仇，殺他在床上，葬他在大衛城，只是不葬在列王的墳墓裏。

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 背叛他的是亞捫婦人示米押的兒子撒拔和摩押婦人示米利的兒子約薩拔。

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 至於他的眾子和他所受的警戒，並他重修上帝殿的事，都寫在列王的傳上。他兒子亞瑪謝接續他作王。

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.