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 when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
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。
Joash did what was right in the Lord's sight during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.
3 耶何耶大為他娶了兩個妻，並且生兒養女。
Jehoiada arranged for him to marry two wives, and he had sons and daughters.
4 此後，約阿施有意重修耶和華的殿，
Some time later, Joash decided to repair the Lord's Temple.
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。
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.
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？」（
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?”
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。）
(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.)
8 於是王下令，眾人做了一櫃，放在耶和華殿的門外，
The king ordered a collection chest to be made and placed outside the entrance to the Lord's Temple.
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。
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.
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。
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.
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。
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.
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 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.
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。
The men doing the repairs worked hard and made good progress. They restored God's Temple to its original condition and strengthened it.
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。
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.
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，
Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130, having lived a full life.
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。
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.
17 耶何耶大死後，猶大的眾首領來朝拜王；王就聽從他們。
But after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came to swear their loyalty to the king, and he listened to their advice.
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。
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.
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。
The Lord sent prophets to bring the people back to him and to warn them; but they refused to listen.
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 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.’”
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。
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.
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！」
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!”
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。
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.
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。
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.
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。
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.
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 plotted against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, 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。
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.
