2 Chronicles 24

Wycliffe Bible

24 Joash was of seven years (Joash was seven years old), when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Zibiah of Beersheba.

² And he did that, that was good before the Lord, in all the days of Jehoiada, the priest.

³ And Joash took two wives, of which he begat sons and daughters. (And Jehoiada chose two wives for him, of whom Joash begat sons and daughters.)

⁴ And after which things it pleased Joash to repair the house of the Lord.

⁵ And he gathered together [the] priests and deacons, and said to them, Go ye out to the cities of Judah, and gather ye of all Israel money, to the repairing of the temple of your Lord God, by each year; and do ye this thing hastily. Certainly the deacons did this thing negligently. (And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go ye out to the cities of Judah, and gather ye the yearly money, or the annual tax, from all Israel, for repairs to the Temple of the Lord your God; and do ye this thing promptly, or quickly. But the Levites did it negligently, or slovenly.)

⁶ And the king called Jehoiada, the prince of priests, and said to him, Why was it not (a) charge to thee, to constrain the deacons to bring in (the) money of Judah and of Jerusalem, which money was ordained of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that all the multitude of Israel should bring it into the tabernacle of witnessing? (And so the king called the High Priest Jehoiada, and said to him, Why was it not a concern for thee, to require the Levites to bring in the money, that is, the tax, from Judah and Jerusalem, which was ordained by Moses, the Lord’s servant, that all the multitude of Israel should bring to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing?)

⁷ For the wicked woman Athaliah, and her sons, destroyed the house of God; and of all the things, that were hallowed to the temple of the Lord, they adorned the temple of Baalim. (For that wicked woman Athaliah, and her sons, destroyed the House of God; and they adorned the temple of the Baalim, with all the things that were dedicated to the Temple of the Lord.)

⁸ Therefore the king commanded, and they made an ark, and setted it beside the gate (of the House) of the Lord withoutforth. (And so the king commanded, and they made a box, and put it outside the gate of the House of the Lord.)

⁹ And it was preached in Judah and Jerusalem, that each man should bring to the Lord the price, that Moses, the servant of God, ordained upon all Israel, in desert. (And it was preached in Judah and Jerusalem, that everyone should bring to the Lord the tax, that Moses, the servant of God, had ordained upon all Israel, in the wilderness.)

¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people were glad, and they entered, and brought, and sent freely their gifts into the ark of the Lord (and freely put their gifts into the box for the Lord), so that it was filled with treasure.

¹¹ And when it was time, that they should bear the ark before the king(’s) (officials) by the hands of deacons, for they saw much money, the clerk of the king entered, and he whom the first, or chief, priest had ordained, and they poured out the money, that was in the ark; and they bare again the ark to his place (And when it was time, that they should carry the box to the king’s officials by the hands of the Levites, for they saw much money in it, the king’s clerk entered, and he whom the High Priest had ordained, and they poured out the money, that was in the box; and then they put the box back in its place). And so they did by all days, and money without number was gathered together;

¹² which the king and Jehoiada gave to them that were (the) sovereigns of the works of the house of the Lord. And they hired thereof cutters of stones, and craftsmen of all works, that they should repair the house of the Lord; also they hired smiths of iron, and of brass, that that thing should be underset, that began to fall (and they hired ironsmiths, and bronze-workers, so that what had begun to fall, or to fail, could be strengthened).

¹³ They that wrought did craftily, and the crazing of the walls was stopped by the hands of them; and they raised the house of the Lord into the former state, and made it to stand steadfastly. (They who did the work did so with craftsmanship, and they repaired the breaches in the walls; and so they raised the House of the Lord back to its former state, and made it stand strong and steadfast.)

¹⁴ And when they had fulfilled all the works, they brought before the king and Jehoiada the tother part of the money, of which money vessels were made into the service of the temple, and to burnt sacrifices (and from that money vessels were made for service in the Temple, and for the burnt sacrifices); also vials, or basins, and other vessels of gold and of silver were made thereof. And burnt sacrifices were offered in the house of the Lord continually, in all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ And Jehoiada full of days waxed eld, and he was dead, when he was of an hundred years and thirty; (And Jehoiada grew old, and full of days, and he died when he was a hundred and thirty years old;)

¹⁶ and they buried him in the city of David with (the) kings; for he had done good with Israel, (for God,) and with his house. (and they buried him in the City of David with the kings; for he had done good in Israel, for God, and for his House.)

¹⁷ But after that Jehoiada died, the princes of Judah entered, and worshipped the king, which was flattered with their services, and assented to them. (But after that Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah entered, and worshipped, or honoured, the king, who was flattered by them, and he assented to them.)

¹⁸ And they forsook the temple of the Lord God of their fathers, and served idols in woods, and graven images (and worshipped sacred poles, and carved idols); and the ire of the Lord was made against Judah and Jerusalem for this sin.

¹⁹ And he sent to them prophets, that they should turn again to the Lord (so that they would return to the Lord); the which prophets’ witnessing, they would not hear.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed, or environed, Zechariah, the priest, the son of Jehoiada; and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why break ye the commandment of the Lord, which thing shall not profit to you, and ye have forsaken the Lord, that he should forsake you? (Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah, the son of the High Priest Jehoiada; and he stood before the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why have ye broken the Lord’s commands? truly that shall not profit you; but because ye have abandoned the Lord, now he hath abandoned you.)

²¹ Which were gathered together against him, and casted stones (at him), by commandment of the king, in the large place of the house of the Lord. (And they gathered together against him, and threw stones at him, by the command of the king, in the courtyard of the House of the Lord.)

²² And king Joash had not mind on the mercy, (or goodness,) which Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had done with him; but he killed the son of Jehoiada. And when Zechariah died, he said, The Lord see this thing, and again-seek it. (And King Joash forgot about the loyalty which Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown to him; and so he had Jehoiada’s son killed. And as Zechariah died, he said, May the Lord see what thou hast done, and avenge it.)

²³ And when a year was turned about, either ended, the host of Syria went up against Joash, and it came into Judah and into Jerusalem, and it killed all the princes of the people (and they came into Judah and Jerusalem, and they killed all the leaders of the people); and they sent all the prey to the king of Damascus.

²⁴ And certain(ly), when a full little number of men of Syria was come into Judah, the Lord betook in(to) their hands a multitude of Jews without number, for they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. Also they used shameful dooms against Joash (And so they executed judgement against Joash);

²⁵ and they went away from him, and they left him in great sorrows. And his servants rose up against him, into vengeance of the blood of the son of Jehoiada, priest; and killed him in his bed, and he was dead. And they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of kings. (and then they went away from him, and they left him in great sorrows. And then his servants rose up against him, in vengeance for the blood of the son of the High Priest Jehoiada; and they killed him in his bed, and he was dead. And they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.)

²⁶ And Zabad, the son of Shimeath of Ammon, and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith of Moab, setted treasons to him. (And it was Zabad, the son of Shimeath of Ammon, and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith of Moab, who set treason against him.)

²⁷ Soothly his sons, and the sum of money that was gathered under him, and the repairing of the house of God, be written diligently in the book of Kings (all be diligently written about in The Book of the Kings). And Amaziah, his son, reigned for him;