Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

24 ^(A)Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned 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 became the father of 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 ^[c]annually, and you shall do the matter 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 levy fixed by Moses the servant of the Lord on 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 ^[d]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)They made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord ^(J)the levy fixed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought in their levies and ^[e]dropped them into the chest until they had finished. ¹¹ It came about whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by the Levites, and when ^(K)they saw that there was much money, then the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, take it, and return it to its place. Thus they did daily and collected much 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 ^[f]repair the house of the Lord. ¹³ So the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ^[g]restored the house of God ^[h]according to its 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 offering, 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 when Jehoiada ^[i]reached a ripe old age he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death. ¹⁶ They buried him ^(L)in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in ^(M)Israel and ^[j]to 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 They abandoned ^(N)the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and ^(O)served the ^[k]Asherim and the idols; so ^(P)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. ¹⁹ Yet ^(Q)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; though they testified against them, they would not listen.

Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada

^20 (R)Then the Spirit of God ^[l]came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘^(S)Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? ^(T)Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.’” ²¹ So ^(U)they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him ^[m]to death in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as he died he said, “May ^(V)the Lord see and ^[n]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 him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Indeed the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet ^(X)the Lord delivered a very great army into their hands, ^(Y)because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.

^25 (Z)When they had departed from him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[o]son of Jehoiada the priest, and 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 those 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 ^[p]oracles against him and ^(AA)the ^[q]rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the ^[r](AB)treatise of the Book of the Kings. Then Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Amaziah Succeeds Joash in Judah

25 ^(AC)Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² He did right in the sight of the Lord, ^(AD)yet not with a whole heart. ³ Now ^(AE)it came about as soon as the kingdom was ^[s]firmly in his grasp, that he killed his servants who had slain his father the king. ⁴ However, he did not put their children to death, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, which the Lord commanded, saying, “^(AF)Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Amaziah Defeats Edomites

⁵ Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and appointed them according to their fathers’ households under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he ^[t]took a census of those ^(AG)from twenty years old and upward and found them to be ^(AH)300,000 choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield. ⁶ He hired also 100,000 valiant warriors out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver. ⁷ But ^(AI)a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will ^[u]bring you down before the enemy, ^(AJ)for God has power to help and to ^[v]bring down.” ⁹ Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “^(AK)The Lord has much more to give you than this.” ¹⁰ Then Amaziah ^[w]dismissed them, the troops which came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against Judah and they returned ^[x]home in fierce anger.

¹¹ Now Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people forth, and went to ^(AL)the Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 of the sons of Seir. ¹² The sons of Judah also captured 10,000 alive and brought them to the top of the cliff and threw them down from the top of the cliff, so that they were all dashed to pieces. ¹³ But the ^[y]troops whom Amaziah sent back from going with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 of them and plundered much spoil.

Amaziah Rebuked for Idolatry

¹⁴ Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites, ^(AM)he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ Then the anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people ^(AN)who have not delivered their own people from your hand?” ¹⁶ As he was talking with him, ^[z]the king said to him, “Have we appointed you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

Amaziah Defeated by Joash of Israel

^17 (AO)Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face each other.” ¹⁸ Joash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^(AP)The thorn bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trampled the thorn bush. ¹⁹ You said, ‘Behold, you have ^[aa]defeated Edom.’ And ^(AQ)your heart has ^[ab]become proud in boasting. Now stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God, that He might deliver them into the hand of Joash because they had sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh, which belonged to Judah. ²² Judah was defeated ^[ac]by Israel, and they fled each to his tent. ²³ Then Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of ^(AR)Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, 400 ^[ad]cubits. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of God with ^(AS)Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

^25 (AT)And Amaziah, the son of Joash king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, behold, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Uzziah Succeeds Amaziah in Judah

26 And all the people of Judah took ^[ae]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. ² He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. ³ Uzziah was ^(AU)sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^[af]Jechiliah of Jerusalem. ⁴ He did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ^5 (AV)He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, ^(AW)who had understanding ^[ag]through the vision of God; and ^[ah](AX)as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him.

Uzziah Succeeds in War

⁶ Now he went out and ^(AY)warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines. ^7 (AZ)God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites also gave ^(BA)tribute to Uzziah, and his ^[ai]fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. ⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at ^(BB)the Corner Gate and at the ^(BC)Valley Gate and at the corner buttress and fortified them. ¹⁰ He built towers in the wilderness and ^(BD)hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the ^[aj]lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil. ¹¹ Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which ^[ak]entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, ^[al]prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officers. ¹² The total number of the heads of the ^[am]households, of valiant warriors, was 2,600. ¹³ Under their direction was an ^[an]elite army of ^(BE)307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Moreover, Uzziah prepared ^[ao]for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and sling stones. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his ^[ap]fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.

Pride Is Uzziah’s Undoing

¹⁶ But ^(BF)when he became strong, his heart was so ^[aq]proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for ^(BG)he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Then ^(BH)Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. ^18 (BI)They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “^(BJ)It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, ^(BK)but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God.” ¹⁹ But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, ^(BL)the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. ²⁰ Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the Lord had smitten him. ^21 (BM)King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in ^(BN)a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king’s house judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first to last, the prophet ^(BO)Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written. ²³ So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers ^(BP)in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son became king in his place.

Principles of Conscience

14 Now ^(A)accept the one who is ^(B)weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. ^2 (C)One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is ^(D)weak eats vegetables only. ³ The one who eats is not to ^(E)regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to ^(F)judge the one who eats, for God has ^(G)accepted him. ^4 (H)Who are you to judge the ^[a]servant of another? To his own ^[b]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (I)One person ^[c]regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be ^(J)fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, ^[d]does so for the Lord, for he ^(K)gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For not one of us ^(L)lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore ^(M)whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end ^(N)Christ died and lived again, that He might be ^(O)Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you ^(P)regard your brother with contempt? For ^(Q)we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,

¹² So then ^(T)each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³ Therefore let us not ^(U)judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—^(V)not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. ¹⁴ I know and am convinced ^[f]in the Lord Jesus that ^(W)nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who ^(X)thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵ For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer ^(Y)walking according to love. ^(Z)Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(AA)do not let what is for you a good thing be ^[g]spoken of as evil; ¹⁷ for the kingdom of God ^(AB)is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and ^(AC)peace and ^(AD)joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For he who in this way ^(AE)serves Christ is ^(AF)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then ^[h]we ^(AG)pursue the things which make for peace and the ^(AH)building up of one another. ^20 (AI)Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. ^(AJ)All things indeed are clean, but ^(AK)they are evil for the man who eats ^[i]and gives offense. ^21 (AL)It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. ²² The faith which you have, have ^[j]as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who ^(AM)does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³ But ^(AN)he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.