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Joash’s Apostasy. 17 After the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king; then the king listened to them. 18 They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and began to serve the asherahs and the idols;(A) and because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Although prophets were sent to them to turn them back to the Lord and to warn them, the people would not listen. 20 (B)Then the spirit of God clothed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He took his stand above the people and said to them: “Thus says God, Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.” 21 But they conspired against him, and at the king’s command they stoned him in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him by Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, and killed the son. As he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge.”

Joash Punished. 23 At the turn of the year a force of Arameans came up against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the princes of the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.(C) 24 Though the Aramean force was small, the Lord handed over a very large force into their power,(D) because Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. So judgment was meted out to Joash. 25 (E)After the Arameans had departed from him, abandoning him to his many injuries, his servants conspired against him because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest. They killed him on his sickbed. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

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