Chronological
Joash’s Reign(A)
12 Joash became king of Judah in Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel, and he ·ruled [reigned] for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did ·what the Lord said was right [L right in the sight of the Lord] as long as Jehoiada the priest ·taught [instructed] him. 3 But the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; C worship sites that became associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God] were not removed; the people still made sacrifices and burned incense there.
Joash Repairsthe Temple
4 Joash said to the priests, “Take all the money brought as offerings to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. This includes the money each person ·owes in taxes [is assessed] and the money ·each person promises [from personal vows] or ·brings freely [money brought voluntarily] to the Lord. 5 Each priest will take the money from ·the people he serves [donors; or acquaintances; or the treasurers]. Then the priests must ·repair [restore] any damage they find in the ·Temple [L house].”
6 But by the twenty-third year Joash was king, the priests still had not ·repaired [restored] the ·Temple [L house]. 7 So King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why aren’t you ·repairing the damage of [restoring] the ·Temple [L house]? Don’t take any more money from ·the people you serve [donors; or acquaintances; or the treasurers], but hand over the money for the ·repair [restoration] of the ·Temple [L house].” 8 The priests agreed not to take any more money from the people and not to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] themselves.
9 Jehoiada the priest took a box and made a hole in the ·top of it [lid]. Then he put it by the altar, on the right side as the people came into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. The priests guarding the ·doorway [entrance; threshold] put all the money brought to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord into the box.
10 Each time the priests saw that the box was full of money, the king’s royal secretary and the high priest came. They counted the money that had been brought to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, and they put it into bags. 11 Next they weighed the money and gave it to the people in charge of the work on the ·Temple [L house]. With it they paid the carpenters and the builders who worked on the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, 12 as well as the ·bricklayers [masons] and stonecutters. They also used the money to buy timber and cut stone to ·repair the damage of [restore] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. It paid for ·everything [anything else that was used].
13 The money brought into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord was not used to make silver cups, ·wick trimmers [snuffers], bowls, trumpets, or gold or silver vessels. 14 They paid the money to the workers, who used it to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 15 They did not ·demand to know how the money was spent [require an accounting], because the workers were honest. 16 The money from the ·penalty [guilt] offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, because it belonged to the priests.
Joash Saves Jerusalem(B)
17 About this time Hazael king of Aram attacked Gath and captured it. Then he ·went [L set his face] to attack Jerusalem. 18 Joash king of Judah took all the ·holy things [sacred objects; votive gifts] ·given [dedicated] by his ·ancestors [fathers], the kings of Judah—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. He also took his own ·holy things [sacred objects; votive gifts] as well as the gold that was found in the treasuries of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and the gold from the ·palace [L king’s house]. Joash sent all this treasure to Hazael king of Aram, who ·turned away [withdrew] from Jerusalem.
19 Everything else Joash did ·is [L is it not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 20 His officers ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against him and ·killed [assassinated] him at Beth Millo on the road down to Silla. 21 The officers who ·killed [assassinated] him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. Joash was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in the City of David [C Jerusalem], and Amaziah, his son, became king in his place.
Jehoahaz King of Israel
13 Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria during the twenty-third year Joash son of Ahaziah was king of Judah. Jehoahaz ·ruled [reigned] seventeen years, 2 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. Jehoahaz ·did [followed] the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin, and Jehoahaz did not ·stop doing these same sins [depart/turn away from them]. 3 So the ·Lord was angry with [L Lord’s anger burned/kindled against] Israel and handed them over to Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-Hadad ·for a long time [or repeatedly].
4 Then Jehoahaz ·begged [entreated; prayed to; sought the favor of] the Lord, and the Lord listened to him. The Lord had seen the ·troubles [oppression] of Israel; he saw how ·terribly [severely] the king of Aram was ·treating [oppressing] them. 5 He gave Israel a ·man to save them [rescuer; savior; T deliverer], and they escaped from the ·hand [grip; power] of the Arameans. The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] then lived in their own ·homes [L tents] as they had before, 6 but they still did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] these same sins that the ·family [L house] of Jeroboam had done. He had led Israel to sin, and they ·continued doing those sins [L walked in them]. The Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 1 Kin. 14:15] also was left standing in Samaria.
7 Nothing was left of Jehoahaz’s army except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers. The king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like ·chaff [L dust at threshing time].
8 Everything else Jehoahaz did and all his ·victories [achievements; power] ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 9 Jehoahaz ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash became king in his place.
Jehoash King of Israel
10 Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria during Joash’s thirty-seventh year as king of Judah. Jehoash ·ruled [reigned] sixteen years, 11 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin, and Jehoash continued to do the same thing. 12 Everything else he did and all his ·victories [achievements; power], including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 13 Jehoash ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], and Jeroboam took his place on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
The Death of Elisha
14 At this time Elisha became sick. ·Before he died [or …with the illness of which he would die], Jehoash king of Israel went to Elisha and cried ·for [over] him. Jehoash said, “My father, my father! ·The chariots [or Chariot; C a reference to Elisha as Israel’s defender; cf. 2:12] of Israel and ·their [its] horsemen!”
15 Elisha said to Jehoash, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then Elisha said to him, “Put your hand on the bow.” So Jehoash put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So Jehoash opened the window. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and Jehoash shot. Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! You will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you ·destroy [make an end of] them.”
18 Elisha said, “Take the arrows.” So Jehoash took them. Then Elisha said to him, “Strike the ground.” So Jehoash struck the ground three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was ·angry [aroused/provoked to anger] with him. “You should have struck five or six times!” Elisha said. “Then you would have struck Aram until you had completely destroyed it. But now you will ·defeat it [L strike down Aram] only three times.”
20 Then Elisha died and was buried.
At that time ·groups [bands] of Moabites would rob the land in the springtime. 21 Once as some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a ·group [band] of Moabites coming. The Israelites threw the dead man into Elisha’s ·grave [tomb]. When the man touched Elisha’s bones, the man ·came back to life [revived] and stood on his feet.
War with Aram
22 During all the days Jehoahaz was king, Hazael king of Aram ·troubled [oppressed] Israel. 23 But the Lord was ·kind [gracious] to the Israelites; he had ·mercy [compassion; pity] on them and helped them because of his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To this day he has ·never wanted [been unwilling] to destroy them or ·reject them [banish/cast them from his presence].
24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-Hadad became king in his place. 25 During a war Hazael had taken some cities from Jehoahaz, Jehoash’s father. Now Jehoash took back those cities from Hazael’s son Ben-Hadad. He defeated Ben-Hadad three times and ·took back [recovered] the cities of Israel.
Joash Repairs the Temple(A)
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what ·the Lord said was right [was pleasing/proper in the eyes/sight of the Lord] ·as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive [L all the days of Jehoiada the priest]. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and Joash ·had [fathered] sons and daughters.
4 Later, Joash decided to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 5 He ·called [assembled; summoned] the priests and the Levites together and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and gather the annual offering. Use it to repair the ·Temple [L house] of your God. Do this ·now [quickly; immediately].” But the Levites ·did not hurry [delayed].
6 So King Joash ·called for [summoned] Jehoiada the leading priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you made the Levites bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax money that Moses, the Lord’s servant, and the people of Israel used for the ·Holy Tent [L tent/tabernacle of the testimony/covenant]?”
7 In the past the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the ·Temple [L house] of God and used its ·holy things [sacred/dedicated objects] for worshiping the Baal idols.
8 King Joash commanded that a ·box for contributions [chest] be made. They put it outside, at the gate of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 9 Then the Levites made an ·announcement [proclamation; edict] in Judah and Jerusalem, telling people to bring to the Lord the ·tax money [levy] Moses, the servant of God, had made the Israelites give while they were in the ·desert [wilderness]. 10 All the ·officers [leaders; officials] and people ·were happy to bring [rejoiced and brought] their ·money [levies; contributions], and they put it in the box until the box was full. 11 When the Levites would take the box to the king’s ·officers [officials; accountants], they would see that ·it was full [there was a lot] of money. Then the king’s ·royal secretary [scribe] and the ·leading [chief; high] priest’s officer would come and ·take out the money [empty the chest] and return ·the box [L it] to its place. They did this ·often [L day after day] and gathered much money. 12 King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. And they hired ·stoneworkers [masons] and carpenters to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. They also hired people to work with iron and bronze to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house].
13 The people worked hard, and the work to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] ·went well [progressed]. They ·rebuilt [restored] the ·Temple [L house] of God ·to be as it was before [according to its original design/specifications], but even stronger. 14 When the workers finished, they brought the money that was left to King Joash and Jehoiada. They used that money to make ·utensils [articles] for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, ·utensils [articles] for the service in the ·Temple [L house] and for the burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17], and ·bowls [pans; ladles] and other ·utensils [articles] from gold and silver. Burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] were ·given every day [offered/sacrificed continually] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·while Jehoiada was alive [L all the days of Jehoiada].
15 Jehoiada grew old and ·lived many years [L full of days]. Then he died when he was one hundred thirty years old. 16 Jehoiada was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem] with the kings, because he had done much good in Judah for God and his ·Temple [L house].
Joash Does Evil
17 After Jehoiada died, the ·officers [officials] of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash, and he listened to ·them [their advice]. 18 The king and these leaders ·stopped worshiping in [abandoned] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. Instead, they began to ·worship [serve] the Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] and other idols. Because ·they did wrong [of their sin/guilt], ·God was angry with [L wrath came upon] the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Even though the Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him and even though the prophets ·warned [testified against] them, they refused to listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God ·entered [came upon] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “·This is what God says [T Thus says God]: ‘Why do you ·disobey [violate; transgress] the Lord’s commands? You will not ·be successful [prosper; succeed]. Because you have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, he has also ·left [abandoned; forsaken] you.’”
21 But ·the king and his officers made plans [they conspired; plotted] against Zechariah. At the king’s command they ·threw stones at [stoned] him in the courtyard of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord until he died. 22 King Joash did not remember Jehoiada’s ·kindness [loyalty; devotion] to him, so Joash ·killed [murdered] Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. ·Before [As] Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord ·see what you are doing and punish you [see and avenge].”
Aramea Attacks Judah(B)
23 At the ·end [L turning; C spring] of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the ·leaders [officials] of the people, and sent all the ·valuable things [plunder; spoil; booty] to their king in Damascus. 24 The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord handed over to them a very large army from Judah, because the people of Judah had ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. So Joash was ·punished [judged]. 25 When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own ·officers [officials] made plans against him because ·he had killed [L of the shed blood of] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they ·killed [murdered] Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem] but not in the ·graves [tombs] of the kings.
26 The ·officers who made plans [conspirators; plotters] 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 [or many] ·prophecies [oracles] against him, and how he ·repaired [restored] the ·Temple [L house] of God ·are [L are they not…?] written in the ·book [scroll] of the kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became king in his place.
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