Chronicles II 24

1 Joas was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Sabia of Bersabee.

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 Joas did that which right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jodae the priest.

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

3 And Jodae took to himself two wives, and they bore 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 afterward that it came into the heart of Joas to repair the house of the Lord.

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

5 And he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out into the cities of Juda, and collect money of all Israel to repair the house of the Lord from year to year, and make haste to speak [of it]. But the Levites hasted 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 And king Joas called Jodae the chief, and said to him, Why have you not looked after the Levites, so that they should bring from Juda and Jerusalem that which was prescribed by Moses the man of God, when he assembled Israel at the tabernacle of witness?

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 Gotholia was a transgressor, and her sons tore down the house of God; for they offered the holy things of the house of the Lord to 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 And the king said, Let a box be made, and let it be put at the gate of the house of the Lord without.

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

9 And let [men] proclaim in Juda an in Jerusalem, that [the people] should bring to the Lord, as Moses the servant of God spoke concerning Israel in the wilderness.

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 princes and all the people gave, and brought in, and cast into the box until it was filled.

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, when they brought in the box to the officers of the king by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that the money was more than sufficient, then came the king's scribe, and the officer of the high priest, and emptied the box, and restored it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and collected much money.

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 Jodae the priest gave it to the workmen employed in the service of the house of the Lord, and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, also smiths and braziers to repair the house of the Lord.

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 And the workmen wrought, and the works prospered in their hands, and they established the house of the Lord on its foundation, and strengthened [it].

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 [it], they brought to the king and to Jodae the remainder of the money, and they made vessels for the house of the Lord, vessels of service for whole burnt offerings, and gold and silver [censers]: and they offered up whole burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jodae.

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 And Jodae grew old, being full of days, and he died, being a hundred and thirty years old at his death.

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 with the kings in the city of David, because he had dealt well with Israel, and with 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 And it came to pass after the death of Jodae, [that] the princes of Juda went in, and did obeisance to the king. Then the king listened to 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 the Lord God of their fathers, and served the Astartes and idols: and there was wrath upon Juda and Jerusalem in that day.

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 yet he sent prophets to them, to turn them to the Lord; but they listened not: and he testified to them, but they obeyed not.

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 came upon Azarias the son of Jodae the priest, and he stood up above the people, and said, Thus says the Lord, Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord? so shall you not prosper; for you have forsaken the Lord, and he will forsake 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 And they conspired against him, and stone him by command of king Joas in the court of the Lord's house.

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 So Joas remembered not the kindness which his father Jodae had exercised towards him, but killed his son. And as he died, he said, The Lord look upon [it], and judge.

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 after the end of the year, [that] the host of Syria went up against him, and came against Juda and Jerusalem: and they killed all the chiefs of the people amongst the people, and all their spoils they sent to 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 For the army of Syria came with few men, yet God gave into their hands a very large army, because they had forsaken the God of their fathers; and he brought judgements on Joas.

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 after they had departed from him, when they had left him in sore diseases, then his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jodae the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchre 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 And they that conspired against him were Zabed the son of Samaath the Ammanite, and Jozabed the son of Samareth the Moabite.

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 And all his sons, and the five came to him: and the other [matters], behold, they are written in the book of the kings. And Amasias 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.