Beginning

21 Then Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king in his place. ² Jehoram’s brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. They were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. ³ Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold and valuable things. He also gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the first son.

Jehoram King of Judah

⁴ Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom. Then he killed all his brothers with a sword. He also killed some of the leaders of Israel. ⁵ He was 32 years old when he began to rule. And he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ He lived as the kings of Israel had lived. He lived as Ahab’s family had lived. This was because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong. ⁷ But the Lord would not destroy David’s family. This was because of the agreement he had made with David. The Lord had promised that one of David’s descendants would always rule.

⁸ While Jehoram was king, Edom turned against Judah’s rule. The people of Edom chose their own king. ⁹ So Jehoram went to Edom with all his commanders and chariots. The Edomite army surrounded Jehoram and his chariot commanders. But Jehoram fought his way out at night. ¹⁰ From then until now the country of Edom has fought against Judah.

At the same time the people of Libnah also turned against Jehoram. This happened because Jehoram left the Lord, the God his ancestors followed. ¹¹ Jehoram also had built places to worship false gods on the hills in Judah. He had led the people of Jerusalem into sinning. And he had led the people of Judah away from the Lord. ¹² Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet. The letter said:

¹⁶ The Lord caused the Philistines and the Arabs to be angry with Jehoram. They lived near the Cushites. ¹⁷ So the Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah. They took away all the wealth of Jehoram’s palace, as well as his sons and wives. Only Jehoram’s youngest son, Ahaziah, was left.

¹⁸ After these things happened, the Lord gave Jehoram a disease in his intestines. It could not be cured. ¹⁹ After he was sick for two years, Jehoram’s intestines fell out because of the disease. He died in terrible pain. The people did not make a large fire to honor Jehoram as they had done for his ancestors.

²⁰ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. And he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. No one was sad when he died. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the graves for the kings.

Ahaziah King of Judah

22 The people of Jerusalem chose Ahaziah to be king in Jehoram’s place. Ahaziah was Jehoram’s youngest son. The robbers who had come with the Arabs to attack Jehoram’s camp had killed all of Jehoram’s older sons. So Ahaziah began to rule Judah. ² He was 22 years old when he began to rule. And he ruled one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri. ³ Ahaziah also lived as Ahab’s family had lived. This was because his mother encouraged him to do wrong things. ⁴ Ahaziah did what the Lord said was wrong. That is what Ahab’s family had done. And they gave advice to Ahaziah after his father died. Their bad advice led to his death. ⁵ Ahaziah followed their advice when he went to fight King Hazael of Aram. King Joram of Israel, Ahab’s son, went with him. They met Hazael at the town of Ramoth in Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram in battle. ⁶ So Joram returned to the town of Jezreel to get well. He was wounded at Ramoth when he fought Hazael king of Aram.

Then King Ahaziah of Judah, son of Jehoram, went to Jezreel. He went there to visit Joram son of Ahab because he was wounded.

⁷ God caused Ahaziah’s death when he went to visit Joram. Ahaziah arrived and went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi. The Lord had appointed Jehu to destroy Ahab’s family. ⁸ While Jehu was punishing Ahab’s family, he found the leaders of Judah. He also found Ahaziah’s relatives who served Ahaziah. Jehu killed them all. ⁹ Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah. Jehu’s men caught him hiding in Samaria. So they brought him to Jehu. Then they killed and buried him. They said, “Ahaziah is a descendant of Jehoshaphat. And Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord with all his heart.” No one in Ahaziah’s family had the power to take control of the kingdom of Judah.

Athaliah Queen of Judah

¹⁰ Now Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead. Then she killed all the royal family in Judah. ¹¹ But Jehosheba took Joash, Ahaziah’s son. She stole him from among the other sons of the king. Those sons were going to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehosheba was King Jehoram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister. She was also the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She hid Joash so Athaliah could not kill him. ¹² Joash was hidden with them in the Temple of God for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.

23 In the seventh year Jehoiada decided to do something. He made an agreement with the commanders of the groups of 100 men. These were the commanders: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. ² They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns. They also gathered the leaders of the families of Israel. Then they went to Jerusalem. ³ All the people together made an agreement with the king in the Temple of God.

Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son will rule. That is what the Lord promised about David’s descendants. ⁴ Now this is what you must do: You priests and Levites go on duty on the Sabbath. A third of you will guard the doors. ⁵ A third of you will be at the king’s palace. And a third of you will be at the Foundation Gate. All the other people will stay in the courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ Don’t let anyone come into the Temple of the Lord. Only the priests and Levites who serve may come in. They may come because they have been made ready to serve the Lord. But all the other men must do the job the Lord has given them. ⁷ The Levites must stay near the king. Every man must have his sword with him. If anyone tries to enter the Temple, kill him. You must stay with the king everywhere he goes.”

⁸ The Levites and all the people of Judah obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest had commanded. He did not excuse anyone from the groups of the priests. So each commander took the men who came on duty on the Sabbath with those who went off duty on the Sabbath. ⁹ Jehoiada gave the commanders of the groups of 100 men the spears and the large and small shields. They had belonged to King David. They were kept in the Temple of God. ¹⁰ Then Jehoiada told the men where to stand. Every man had his weapon in his hand. They stood around the king, near the altar and the Temple. They stood from the south side of the Temple to the north side.

¹¹ Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son. And they put the crown on him. They gave him a copy of the law. Then they appointed him king and poured olive oil on him. Then they shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹² Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king. So she went to them at the Temple of the Lord. ¹³ She looked and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the men who blew trumpets were near him. All the people of the land were happy and blowing trumpets. The singers were playing musical instruments and leading praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes to show how upset she was. She shouted, “Traitors! Traitors!”

¹⁴ Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of 100 men who led the army. He said to them, “Surround her with soldiers and take her out of the Temple area. Kill with a sword anyone who follows her.” He had said, “Don’t put Athaliah to death in the Temple of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they caught her when she came to the entrance of the Horse Gate near the palace. And they put her to death there.

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made an agreement with the people and the king. They agreed that they would be the Lord’s special people. ¹⁷ All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols there. And they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

¹⁸ Then Jehoiada chose the priests to be responsible for the Temple of the Lord. These priests were Levites. David had given them duties in the Temple of the Lord. They were to offer the burnt offerings to the Lord as the Teachings of Moses commanded. They offered the sacrifices with much joy and singing as David had commanded. ¹⁹ Jehoiada put guards at the gates of the Temple of the Lord. Then anyone who was unclean in any way could not enter the Temple.

²⁰ Jehoiada took with him the commanders of 100 men, the important men, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land. They brought the king down from the Temple of the Lord. They went through the Upper Gate into the palace. Then they seated the king on the throne. ²¹ All the people of Judah were very happy. And Jerusalem had peace because Athaliah had been put to death with the sword.

Joash Rebuilds the Temple

24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. And he ruled 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba. ² Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. ³ Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. And Joash had sons and daughters.

⁴ Later, Joash decided to repair the Temple of the Lord. ⁵ He called the priests and the Levites together. He said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah. Gather the money all the Israelites have to pay every year. Use it to repair the Temple of your God. Do this now.” But the Levites did not hurry.

⁶ So King Joash called Jehoiada the leading priest. Joash said to him, “Why haven’t you made the Levites bring in the tax money from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses the Lord’s servant and the people of Israel used that money for the Holy Tent.”

⁷ In the past the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God. They had used its holy things for worshiping the Baal idols.

⁸ King Joash commanded that a box for contributions be made. It was to be put outside, at the gate of the Temple of the Lord. ⁹ Then the Levites made an announcement in Judah and Jerusalem. They told the people to bring the tax money to the Lord. Moses the servant of God had made the Israelites give it while they were in the desert. ¹⁰ All the officers and people were happy to give their money. They put it in the box until the box was full. ¹¹ Then the Levites would take the box to the king’s officers. They would see that it was full of money. Then the king’s royal assistant and the leading priest’s officer would come and take out the money. Then they would take the box back to its place. They did this often and gathered much money. ¹² King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the Temple of the Lord. And they hired stoneworkers and carpenters to repair the Temple of the Lord. They also hired people to work with iron and bronze to repair the Temple.

¹³ The people worked hard. And the work to repair the Temple went well. They rebuilt the Temple of God to be as it was before. And they made it stronger. ¹⁴ When the workers finished, they brought the money that was left to King Joash and Jehoiada. They used that money to make things for the Temple of the Lord. They made things for the service in the Temple and for the burnt offerings. They also made bowls and other things from gold and silver. Burnt offerings were given every day in the Temple of the Lord while Jehoiada was alive.

¹⁵ Jehoiada grew old. He had lived many years. Then he died when he was 130 years old. ¹⁶ Jehoiada was buried in Jerusalem with the kings. He was buried there because he had done much good in Israel for God and his Temple.

Joash Does Evil

¹⁷ After Jehoiada died, the officers of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash. The king listened to them. ¹⁸ The king and these leaders stopped worshiping in the Temple of the Lord. He is the God their ancestors obeyed. The king and the officers began to worship the Asherah idols and other idols. Because they did wrong, God was angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ The Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him. The prophets warned them, but the people refused to listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God entered Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not be successful. You have left the Lord. So the Lord has also left you.’”

²¹ But the king and his officers made plans against Zechariah. The king commanded them to kill Zechariah. So they threw stones at him in the Temple courtyard until he died. ²² King Joash did not remember Jehoiada’s kindness to him. So Joash killed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. Before Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you.”

²³ At the end of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. Then they sent all the valuable things to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ The Aramean army came with only a small group of men. But the Lord let them defeat a very large army from Judah. He did this because the people of Judah had left the Lord. He is the God their ancestors followed. So Joash was punished. ²⁵ When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own officers made plans against him. They did this because he had killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in Jerusalem. But he was not buried in the graves of the kings.

²⁶ The officers who made plans against Joash were Jozabad and Jehozabad. Jozabad was the son of Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad was the son of Shimrith, a woman from Moab. ²⁷ The story of Joash’s sons, the great prophecies against him, and how he rebuilt the Temple of God are written down. They are in the book of the kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became king in his place.