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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
International Standard Version

Joash Follows Jehoiada’s Example(A)

24 Joash was seven years old when he began his reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah. She was from Beer-sheba. 2 Joash practiced what the Lord considered to be right during the lifetime[a] of Jehoiada the priest, 3 who found two wives for him, so he fathered sons and daughters.

4 Later on, Joash decided to rebuild the Lord’s Temple, 5 so he assembled the priests and descendants of Levi and ordered them, “Go throughout the cities of Judah and take up a collection[b] from all of Israel for the annual upkeep[c] of the Temple of your God. And make sure that you act quickly.” But the descendants of Levi did not act quickly, 6 so the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and asked him, “Why haven’t you required the descendants of Levi to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the Lord’s servant, and the assembly of Israel for the Tent of Testimony?”

7 Because that wicked woman Athaliah’s family members had broken into the Temple of God and used the consecrated implements of the Lord’s Temple for service to the Baals, 8 the king issued an order and a chest was made and set outside the entrance gate to the Lord’s Temple. 9 A public notice was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in the tax that Moses the servant of the Lord had levied on Israel when they were in the wilderness. 10 So all the princes and all the people gladly brought their tax and placed it into the chest until they had completed paying the tax.[d] 11 Whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officials by the descendants of Levi, the royal secretary and the chief priest’s designated officer would come, empty the chest, and take it back to its place. They did this day after day until they had collected a large amount of cash.[e]

12 Both the king and Jehoiada paid the money to those who were working to maintain the service of the Lord’s Temple, and they, in turn, hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s Temple. Iron and bronze workers also were brought in to repair the Lord’s Temple. 13 As a result, the workmen did their labor, and the repair work progressed steadily under their supervision,[f] and they restored God’s Temple back to what it should be, and strengthened it, too. 14 When they had completed the work, they brought what was left of the money to the king and to Jehoiada, and it was used to cast utensils for the Lord’s Temple that were to be utilized for daily service and for burnt offerings, for incense vessels, and for both gold and silver vessels. Burnt offerings were offered on a regular basis in the Lord’s Temple throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime.

Joash Apostatizes and Kills Jehoiada’s Son

15 Eventually, Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130 years, after having lived a full life. 16 He was buried in the City of David among the graves of[g] the kings, because he had accomplished many good things in Israel on behalf of God and his Temple. 17 But after Jehoiada had died, officials from Judah came, bowed down to the king, and the king listened to what they had to say. 18 They abandoned the Lord’s Temple and the God of their fathers, and they served Asherim[h] and idols. As a result this guilt of theirs resulted in wrath coming upon Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Nevertheless, God[i] sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord.

20 Then Jehoiada the priest’s son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, “This is what God has to say: ‘Why are you breaking the Lord’s commandments. You’ll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’”

21 But the people[j] conspired against him, and at the direct orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. 22 This is how King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him: he killed his son. As he lay dying, Zechariah cried out, “May the Lord watch this and avenge.”

The Death of Joash(B)

23 At the end of that year, the Aramean army attacked Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed every senior official among the people, and sent all of their possessions to the king of Damascus. 24 The Aramean army attacked with only a small force, but the Lord delivered a much larger army into their control because Judah[k] had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. And so the Aramean army carried out God’s[l] judgment on Joash. 25 After the Arameans left him very sick, Joash’s[m] own servants conspired against him because Joash[n] had murdered Jehoiada the priest’s son, and they killed him on his sick bed. 26 The conspirators included Shimeath the Ammonite’s son Zabad and Shimrith the Moabite’s son Jehozabad. 27 Records concerning his sons, the various prophetic statements rebuking him, and records of the reconstruction work on God’s Temple are written in the Midrash[o] of the Book of the Kings. Joash’s[p] son Amaziah reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:2 Lit. days
  2. 2 Chronicles 24:5 Lit. and collect silver
  3. 2 Chronicles 24:5 Lit. strengthening
  4. 2 Chronicles 24:10 The Heb. lacks paying the tax.
  5. 2 Chronicles 24:11 Lit. silver
  6. 2 Chronicles 24:13 Lit. progressed in their hands
  7. 2 Chronicles 24:16 The Heb. lacks the graves of
  8. 2 Chronicles 24:18 I.e. cultic pillars erected in worship to Canaanite deities
  9. 2 Chronicles 24:19 Lit. he
  10. 2 Chronicles 24:21 Lit. But they
  11. 2 Chronicles 24:24 Lit. they
  12. 2 Chronicles 24:24 The Heb. lacks of God’s
  13. 2 Chronicles 24:25 Lit. his
  14. 2 Chronicles 24:25 Lit. he
  15. 2 Chronicles 24:27 Or Commentary
  16. 2 Chronicles 24:27 Lit. His
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2 Chronicles 23
2 Chronicles 25
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