历代志下 24
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
犹大王约阿施
24 约阿施七岁登基，在耶路撒冷执政四十年。他母亲叫西比亚，是别示巴人。 2 耶何耶大祭司在世之日，约阿施做耶和华视为正的事。 3 耶何耶大为他娶了两个妻子，她们都为他生儿育女。
4 之后，约阿施有意整修耶和华的殿， 5 便召集祭司和利未人，对他们说：“你们到犹大各城去向所有以色列人征收银子，用来作每年整修你们上帝殿的费用。你们要立刻办理这事。”可是，利未人没有立刻办理。 6 王就召来耶何耶大大祭司，问他：“你为什么不吩咐利未人到耶路撒冷和犹大去收税呢？这税是耶和华的仆人摩西和以色列的会众定的，以备圣幕之用。” 7 因为恶妇亚她利雅的爪牙曾闯入耶和华上帝的殿，拿殿里的圣物去供奉巴力。
8 于是，王下令造一个箱子，放在耶和华殿的门外， 9 通告犹大和耶路撒冷的人民要将上帝的仆人摩西在旷野为以色列人定的税带来献给耶和华。 10 全体首领和民众都高高兴兴地把银子带来投进箱子里，直到箱子满了。 11 利未人见箱子满了，就抬到王的官员那里。王的书记和大祭司的属下会把箱子倒空，然后把箱子放回原处。日复一日，他们收了很多银子。 12 王与耶何耶大把银子交给耶和华殿里的办事人员，他们就雇用石匠、木匠、铁匠和铜匠来整修耶和华的殿。 13 工人辛勤整修，工程进展顺利，上帝的殿恢复了原貌，而且非常坚固。 14 完工后，他们把剩余的银子交给王与耶何耶大，这些银子被用来制造耶和华殿里的器具：供奉和献祭用的器皿、碟子和其他金银器皿。耶何耶大在世之日，民众常在耶和华的殿里献燔祭。
耶何耶大的政策被废弃
15 耶何耶大寿终正寝，享年一百三十岁。 16 民众把他葬在大卫城的王陵里，因为他在以色列为上帝和上帝的殿做了美善的事。
17 耶何耶大死后，犹大众首领来朝拜王，王对他们言听计从。 18 他们离弃他们祖先的上帝耶和华的殿，去供奉亚舍拉神像及其他偶像。因他们所犯的罪，上帝的烈怒临到犹大和耶路撒冷。 19 但耶和华仍然派先知到他们中间，引导他们归向祂。先知警告他们，他们却不听。
20 上帝的灵感动了耶何耶大祭司的儿子撒迦利亚，他便站在高处对民众说：“耶和华上帝这样说，‘你们为什么违反耶和华的诫命，以致不得亨通呢？既然你们背弃我，我也必离弃你们。’” 21 他们想谋害撒迦利亚，就照着王的命令，在耶和华殿的院子里用石头打死了他。 22 约阿施王不但不顾念撒迦利亚的父亲耶何耶大对他的恩惠，还杀死了耶何耶大的儿子。撒迦利亚临死的时候说：“愿耶和华鉴察，为我申冤！”
约阿施被杀
23 当年年底，亚兰的军兵前来攻击约阿施，入侵犹大和耶路撒冷，杀了民众的所有首领，把战利品全都送到大马士革王那里。 24 虽然亚兰军只来了一小队，但耶和华把大队的犹大军兵交在他们手中，以惩罚约阿施，因为犹大人背弃了他们祖先的上帝耶和华。
25 亚兰人退兵的时候，约阿施受了重伤，他的臣仆叛变，把他杀死在床上，为耶何耶大祭司的儿子报了血仇。约阿施死后葬在大卫城，但没有葬在王陵里。 26 杀他的是亚扪妇人示米押的儿子撒拔和摩押妇人示米利的儿子约萨拔。 27 至于约阿施的众子、他所受的警告以及他整修上帝殿的事都记在列王史上。他儿子亚玛谢继位。
2 Chronicles 24
The Voice
It is significant that the chronicler does not end Athaliah’s story with a summary of her reign or the location of her burial as all other kings’ stories end. She is a usurper who is not destined to rule Israel because she is not part of the Davidic line. But her reign does not nullify God’s promise to David. In spite of her actions, one of David’s descendants survives her slaughter of the royal house to ascend to the throne. This story is one of hope for the Jews during the Babylonian exile, reminding them that God’s promises always supersede humans’ actions, good or evil.
24 Joash, whose mother Zibiah was from Beersheba, was only seven years old when he became king. He reigned 40 years in Jerusalem 2 and followed the ways of the Eternal only as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. 3 Jehoiada was like a father to Joash, finding two wives for the king, who would father sons and daughters and reconstitute the Davidic line.
4 After he had established his family, Joash decided to restore the Eternal’s temple 7 because the wicked Athaliah’s subjects had broken into the True God’s temple and used its dedicated contents to worship the Baals.[a]
Joash (to the priests and Levites): 5 Collect money from all the Israelites living in the cities of Judah so you can repair your True God’s temple each year. Begin this work quickly.
The Levites did not act quickly as their king had demanded, 6 so Joash rebuked Jehoiada the chief priest for not properly leading them.
Joash (to Jehoiada): Why have you not obeyed my request and required the Levites to collect money from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses, the Eternal’s servant, decided that all Israel should pay this money each year to provide for the tent of the covenant law.
Since the priests and Levites do not collect the money as Joash commands them, he finds another way to collect the money.
8 He had a chest placed outside the Eternal’s temple near the gate 9 and told everyone in Judah and Jerusalem to bring the money that Moses, the servant of the True God, commanded Israel to bring to the Eternal while they were in the desert. 10 All the officers and all the people were excited to help restore the temple, as they had been when it was initially constructed, so they all put their money in the chest until it was full. 11 Each day the Levites returned the chest to the king’s officer, where the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would empty the chest and return it to the temple gate. They emptied the chest every day because the people gave so much money.
12-13 Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the Eternal’s temple servants, who contracted masons, carpenters, and iron and bronze workers. These workers worked to repair, restore, and strengthen the True God’s temple to King David’s original specifications. 14 So much money had been collected that the workers were able to return the extra to Joash and Jehoiada and make gold and silver vessels and utensils for services and burnt offerings in the Eternal’s temple. Having completed the renovations, everyone was faithful to God and gave burnt offerings in the Eternal’s temple for the rest of Jehoiada’s life.
15 Jehoiada was rewarded for his faithfulness to God with a long life. He was 130 years old when he died, 16 and the people buried him in the city of David, Jerusalem, among the kings, recognizing how he had helped Israel, his own extended family, and the True God.
Jehoiada not only helps to overturn the usurping Athaliah and restore the Davidic monarchy, but he also ensures that Joash and Israel follow God. The people recognize how Jehoiada has helped their nation, so they honor him in his burial by placing him among the dead kings. Traditionally, corpses were placed among their own ancestors, with whom they would spend eternity. By burying Jehoiada with the kings, the people indicate that he deserves to be remembered among the greatest of all men.
17-18 Then the officials of Judah (who had abandoned the house of the Eternal One, the True God of their ancestors, to follow Asherim and other idols) came and bowed down to the king, convincing him to listen to their advice. Joash, in the absence of Jehoiada, then led the nation to abandon God. God was infuriated with Judah and Jerusalem. 19 In spite of His anger, the Eternal sent prophets to tell the people how they had sinned and that they should repent. But they did not listen.
20 Then the Spirit of the True God possessed Zechariah, Jehoiada the priest’s son, giving him a message for the people.
Zechariah (standing above the people): The True God has a message for you: “Why do you disobey the Eternal’s commands? You will not have prosperous lives as long as you continue this. Since you have abandoned Him, He has abandoned you.”
21 The new advisors were so infuriated by his message that they conspired against him. Joash then commanded that they stone Zechariah inside the Eternal’s temple courts. 22 By murdering Zechariah, Joash ignored how kind Jehoiada had been to him.
Joash has been saved by Jehoiada’s wife from certain death at the hands of Athaliah. He also has been taught by her to follow God and obey His law. Zechariah’s death inside the temple is ironic since Joash’s own chief priest and Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada, refused to kill Athaliah in the temple because of God’s law; and here Joash is violating the law, for stoning should occur outside of town and most certainly outside of the temple. This is also strange in that stoning is an execution method reserved primarily for treason and not for eliminating a priest who speaks out against sin.
Zechariah (dying): Eternal One, see how Joash has abandoned You and seek judgment on him!
God hears Zechariah’s last words and punishes Joash.
23 At the end of the year, the Aramean army attacked Judah and Jerusalem. It obliterated each of the officials who had advised Joash badly and sent the spoils to the king of Damascus, the capital city of Aram. 24 Although the Aramean army was vastly outnumbered by the Judaean army, the Eternal exercised His judgment on Joash by giving the Arameans an impressive victory over the people who had abandoned the Eternal One, True God of their ancestors.
25-26 When the Arameans left Judah, Joash was severely wounded. Now that the king’s supporters were dead, his own servants (Zabad, son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith the Moabitess) conspired to kill him. They remembered how he had killed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. The servants murdered Joash while he rested on his bed and buried him in the city of David, Jerusalem. However, they did not entomb him with the kings, his own ancestors. The good things that he did while Jehoiada advised him were forgotten.
27 More about Joash’s reign (including the names of his children, the oracles against him, and the details of the temple’s restoration) is written in the commentary of the book of the kings.
Amaziah, his son, succeeded Joash as king.
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.