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.

Seven years old was Joash when he became king, and forty years did he reign in Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Zibyah of Beer-sheba'.

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

And Joash did what is right in the eyes of the Lord, all the days of Yehoyada' the priest.

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

And Yehoyada' took for himself two wives, and he begat sons and daughters.

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

And it came to pass after this, that Yoash had it in his mind to renew 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 the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and ye shall make haste in this matter. But the Levites made no haste.

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?”

Then called the king for Yehoyada' the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required from the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the contribution [fixed by] Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation of Israel, for 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 the sons of the wicked 'Athalyahu have made breaches [in] the house of God; and also the holy things of the house of the Lord have they applied to the Be'alim.

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

And at the king's order they made a chest, and placed it at 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 made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord the contribution [fixed by] Moses the servant of God upon Israel in the wilderness.

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 princes and all the people rejoiced, and they brought it in, and cast it into the chest, until it was full.

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.

Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, then came the king's scribe and the high-priest's officer and emptied the chest, and took it up, and brought it back to its place. Thus did they day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

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 Yehoyada' gave it to those who overlooked the service of the house of the Lord, and these hired masons and carpenters to renew the house of the Lord, and also to the workers in iron and copper to repair the house of the Lord.

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

So the workmen wrought, and the work was restored through their means, and they replaced the house of God in its [former] state, and strengthened it.

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 it, they brought before the king and Yehoyada' the rest of the money, and they made of it vessels for the house of the Lord, the vessels of the service and for the sacrificing, and the spoons, and [other] vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Yehoyada'.

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

And Yehoyada' became old, and was full of days, and died: he was old one hundred and thirty years when he died.

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 among the kings; because he had done a good thing in Israel, and toward God, and 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.

But after the death of Yehoyada' came the princes of Judah, and bowed themselves down to the king. Then did the king hearken unto 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 forsook the house of the Lord the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and there came wrath over Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.

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 among them, to bring them back again unto the Lord; and they gave them warning; but they did not give ear.

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 the spirit of God endued Zechariah the son of Yehoyada' the priest, and he stood up above the people, and he said unto them, Thus hath said the [true] God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord? ye cannot prosper so; because [as] ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken 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 they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the court 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 kindness which Yehoyada' his father had shown to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord will see [this], and require [my blood].

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 it came to pass at the expiration of the year, that the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and all their spoil they sent off unto 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.

Indeed with a small company of men did the army of Syria come; but the Lord delivered into their hand an army exceedingly numerous; because they had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers. And on Joash they executed punishment.

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 when these were gone away from him—for they left him [suffering] with great diseases—his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Yehoyada' the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres 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.

And these are those that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shim'ath the 'Ammonitess, and Yehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

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.

Now concerning his sons, and the great prophecy concerning him, and the founding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amazyahu his son became king in his stead.