2 Chronicles 24

1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.

Joash was seven when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

2 Joash did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

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

3 Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he became the father of sons and daughters.

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

4 It happened after this, that Joash intended to restore the house of the LORD.

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

5 He gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather money to repair the house of your God from all Israel from year to year. See that you expedite this matter." However the Levites did not do it right away.

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 The king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, "Why haven't you required of the Levites to bring in the tax of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the assembly of Israel, out of Judah and out of Jerusalem, for the tent of the testimony?"

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 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up God's house; and they also gave all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals.

(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 So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD.

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

9 They made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness.

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 And all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and threw it into the chest, until it was full.

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 It was so, that whenever the chest was brought to the king's officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the chief priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

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 The king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, and also such as worked iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.

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 So the workmen worked, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands, and they set up God's house in its state, and strengthened it.

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

14 When they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, of which were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels with which to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. They offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

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 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; one hundred thirty years old was he when he died.

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

16 They buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.

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 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and paid homage to the king. And the king listened to them.

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 They forsook the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.

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 Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again to the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

The Lord sent prophets to bring the people back to him and to warn them; but they refused to listen.

20 The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of the LORD, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has also forsaken you.'"

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 They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.

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 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, "May the LORD look at it, and repay it."

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 It happened at the end of the year, that the army of the Arameans came up against him. And they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king in Damascus.

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 For the army of the Arameans came with a small company of men; and the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.

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 When they were departed for him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

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 These are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

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

27 Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles against him, and the rebuilding of God's house, look, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

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.