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2 Chronicles 24
New American Standard Bible

Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

24 (A)Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 (B)Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Faithless Priests

4 Now it came about after this that Joash [a]decided (C)to restore the house of the Lord. 5 He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all (D)Israel to [b]repair the house of your God annually, and you shall [c]do the work quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. 6 So the king summoned Jehoiada, the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem (E)the [d]contribution of Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the congregation of Israel, (F)for the tent of the testimony?” 7 For (G)the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God, and even [e]used the holy things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

Temple Repaired

8 So the king commanded, and (H)they made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord. 9 (I)And they made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord (J)the [f]contribution commanded by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. 10 All the officers and all the people rejoiced, and they brought in their contribution and [g]dropped it into the chest until they had finished. 11 It happened that whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officer by the Levites, and (K)they saw that the money was substantial, the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come and empty the chest, and pick it up and return it to its place. They did this daily and collected a large amount of money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who 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 workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. 13 So the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they [h]restored the house of God according to its [i]specifications and strengthened it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and the burnt offerings, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

15 Now Jehoiada [j]reached a good old age and he died; he was 130 years old at his death. 16 And they buried him (L)in the city of David with the kings, because he had done well in (M)Israel and [k]for God and His house.

17 But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. 18 And they abandoned (N)the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and (O)served the [l]Asherim and the idols; so (P)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 Yet (Q)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada

20 (R)Then the Spirit of God [m]covered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest like clothing; and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said, ‘(S)Why do you break the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? (T)Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has also abandoned you.’” 21 So (U)they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him [n]to death in the courtyard of the house of the Lord. 22 So Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as Zechariah died he said, “May (V)the Lord see and [o]avenge!”

Aram Invades and Defeats Judah

23 Now it happened at the turn of the year that (W)the army of the Arameans came up against Joash; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus. 24 Indeed, the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet (X)the Lord handed a very great army over to them, (Y)because [p]Judah and Joash had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.

25 (Z)When they left him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the [q]son of Jehoiada the priest, and they murdered him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. 26 Now these are the men who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. 27 As to his sons and the many pronouncements against him and (AA)the [r]rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the [s](AB)treatise of the Book of the Kings. Then his son Amaziah became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:4 Lit was with a heart
  2. 2 Chronicles 24:5 Lit strengthen
  3. 2 Chronicles 24:5 Lit hasten to the thing
  4. 2 Chronicles 24:6 Or mandatory offering
  5. 2 Chronicles 24:7 Lit made
  6. 2 Chronicles 24:9 Or mandatory offering
  7. 2 Chronicles 24:10 Lit threw
  8. 2 Chronicles 24:13 Lit set up
  9. 2 Chronicles 24:13 Lit measurement
  10. 2 Chronicles 24:15 Lit became old and satisfied with days
  11. 2 Chronicles 24:16 Lit with
  12. 2 Chronicles 24:18 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  13. 2 Chronicles 24:20 Lit clothed
  14. 2 Chronicles 24:21 Lit with stones
  15. 2 Chronicles 24:22 Lit seek; or require
  16. 2 Chronicles 24:24 Lit they
  17. 2 Chronicles 24:25 As in some ancient versions; MT sons
  18. 2 Chronicles 24:27 Lit founding
  19. 2 Chronicles 24:27 Heb midrash
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2 Chronicles 24
Common English Bible

Jehoash rules

24 Jehoash[a] was 7 years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba. 2 Jehoash did what was right in the Lord’s eyes as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. 3 Jehoiada had him marry two wives, and Jehoash fathered sons and daughters.

4 Sometime later, Jehoash wanted to renovate the Lord’s temple. 5 He gathered the priests and the Levites and said, “Go to the cities of Judah and collect the annual tax of silver due from all Israel for the upkeep of God’s temple. Do it right away.”

But the Levites procrastinated. 6 So the king summoned the chief priest Jehoiada and asked him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the Lord’s servant Moses and the Israelite assembly for the covenant tent?” (7 Now wicked Athaliah and her followers had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy objects of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) 8 So at the king’s command a box was made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple. 9 Then a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that God’s servant Moses had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 10 This so pleased all the leaders and all the people that they gladly dropped their money in the box until it was full. 11 Whenever the box was brought by the Levites to the royal accountants, as soon as they saw that a large amount of money was in the box, the royal scribe and the representative of the high priest would come, empty the box, and return it to its place. This took place day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. 12 The king and Jehoiada would give it to those in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple who in turn hired masons and carpenters to renovate the Lord’s temple, as well as metalworkers for the iron and bronze to repair the Lord’s temple. 13 The workers labored hard, and the restoration progressed smoothly under their control until they had brought God’s temple back to its original state and reinforced it. 14 As soon as they finished, they brought the remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make equipment for the Lord’s temple, including what was used for the service and the entirely burned offerings, pans, and other objects made of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, the entirely burned offerings were regularly offered in the Lord’s temple.

15 Jehoiada grew old, and when he reached the age of 130, he died. 16 He was buried among the kings in David’s City because of his exemplary service to Israel, God, and God’s temple.

17 After Jehoiada’s death, however, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before the king, and the king listened to them. 18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord, their ancestors’ God, and worshipped sacred poles[b] and idols. Anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem as a consequence of their sin, 19 and though God sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord and to warn them, they refused to listen. 20 Then the spirit of God enwrapped Zechariah the son of the priest Jehoiada. Standing before the people, he told them, “This is what God says: Why do you defy the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you!” 21 But the people plotted against Zechariah, and at the king’s command stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Jehoash failed to remember the loyalty that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him and murdered Jehoiada’s son, who cried out as he lay dying, “May the Lord see and seek vengeance!”

23 That spring the Aramean army marched against Jehoash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the people’s leaders, and sent all the loot to the king of Damascus. 24 Although the Aramean forces were relatively small, the Lord handed over to them a very large army, because the people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, their ancestors’ God. Jehoash was justly punished. 25 The Arameans left him badly wounded, but his own officials plotted against him for murdering the son[c] of the priest Jehoiada. So they killed him in his bed. He died and was buried in David’s City but not in the royal cemetery. 26 Those who plotted against him were the Ammonite Zabad, Shimeath’s son, and the Moabite Jehozabad, Shimrith’s son. 27 The list of Jehoash’s sons, the many prophecies against him, and the account of his restoration of God’s temple are written in the comments on the records of the kings. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:1 Heb Joash (see 24:2, 4, 22, 24); the king's name is variously spelled in either long Jehoash or short Joash form in 2 Kgs.
  2. 2 Chronicles 24:18 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
  3. 2 Chronicles 24:25 LXX, Vulg; MT sons
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