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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
New Living Translation

Joash Repairs the Temple

24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and he had sons and daughters.

4 At one point Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple of the Lord. 5 He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions: “Go to all the towns of Judah and collect the required annual offerings, so that we can repair the Temple of your God. Do not delay!” But the Levites did not act immediately.

6 So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and asked him, “Why haven’t you demanded that the Levites go out and collect the Temple taxes from the towns of Judah and from Jerusalem? Moses, the servant of the Lord, levied this tax on the community of Israel in order to maintain the Tabernacle of the Covenant.[a]”

7 Over the years the followers of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God, and they had used all the dedicated things from the Temple of the Lord to worship the images of Baal.

8 So now the king ordered a chest to be made and set outside the gate leading to the Temple of the Lord. 9 Then a proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, telling the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had required of the Israelites in the wilderness. 10 This pleased all the leaders and the people, and they gladly brought their money and filled the chest with it.

11 Whenever the chest became full, the Levites would carry it to the king’s officials. Then the court secretary and an officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest and take it back to the Temple again. This went on day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the construction supervisors, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the Temple of the Lord. They also hired metalworkers, who made articles of iron and bronze for the Lord’s Temple.

13 The men in charge of the renovation worked hard and made steady progress. They restored the Temple of God according to its original design and strengthened it. 14 When all the repairs were finished, they brought the remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make various articles for the Temple of the Lord—articles for worship services and for burnt offerings, including ladles and other articles made of gold and silver. And the burnt offerings were sacrificed continually in the Temple of the Lord during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.

15 Jehoiada lived to a very old age, finally dying at 130. 16 He was buried among the kings in the City of David, because he had done so much good in Israel for God and his Temple.

Jehoiada’s Reforms Reversed

17 But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. 18 They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Yet the Lord sent prophets to bring them back to him. The prophets warned them, but still the people would not listen.

20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”

21 Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and King Joash ordered that they stone him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. 22 That was how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his loyalty—by killing his son. Zechariah’s last words as he died were, “May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death!”

The End of Joash’s Reign

23 In the spring of the year[b] the Aramean army marched against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the nation. Then they sent all the plunder back to their king in Damascus. 24 Although the Arameans attacked with only a small army, the Lord helped them conquer the much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash.

25 The Arameans withdrew, leaving Joash severely wounded. But his own officials plotted to kill him for murdering the son[c] of Jehoiada the priest. They assassinated him as he lay in bed. Then he was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery. 26 The assassins were Jozacar,[d] the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shomer.[e]

27 The account of the sons of Joash, the prophecies about him, and the record of his restoration of the Temple of God are written in The Commentary on the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became the next king.

Footnotes

  1. 24:6 Hebrew Tent of the Testimony.
  2. 24:23 Hebrew At the turn of the year. The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.
  3. 24:25 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads sons.
  4. 24:26a As in parallel text at 2 Kgs 12:21; Hebrew reads Zabad.
  5. 24:26b As in parallel text at 2 Kgs 12:21; Hebrew reads Shimrith, a variant spelling of Shomer.
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