Chronological
Joash Begins His Rule
12 Joash began to rule during Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel. Joash ruled 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 For as long as he lived, Joash did what the Lord considered right. He did what Jehoiada the priest taught him. 3 But he did not destroy the high places. The people still made sacrifices and burned incense at those places of worship.
Joash Orders the Temple Repaired
4-5 Joash said to the priests, “There is much money in the Lord’s Temple. People have given things to the Temple and have paid the Temple tax when they were counted. And they have given money simply because they wanted to. You priests should take that money and repair the Lord’s Temple. Each priest should use the money he gets from the people he serves. He should use that money to repair the damage to the Temple.”
6 In the 23rd year that Joash was king, the priests still had not repaired the Temple, 7 so King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests. Joash said to them, “Why haven’t you repaired the Temple? Stop taking money from the people you serve. That money must be used to repair the Temple.”
8 The priests agreed to stop taking money from the people, but they also decided not to repair the Temple. 9 So Jehoiada the priest took a box and made a hole in the top of it. Then he put the box on the south side of the altar. This box was by the door where people came into the Lord’s Temple. Some of the priests were there to guard this doorway.[a] They took the money that people brought for the Lord’s temple and put it into this box.
10 Whenever the king’s secretary and the high priest saw that the box was full, they counted all the money that had been given for the Lord’s Temple and put it in bags. 11 Then they paid the men who were in charge of the work on the Lord’s Temple. They paid the carpenters and other builders who worked on the Lord’s Temple. 12 They used that money to pay the stoneworkers and stonecutters, and they used it to buy timber, cut stone, and everything else to repair the Lord’s Temple.
13-14 People gave money for the Lord’s Temple, but the priests could not use this money to make silver cups, snuffers, basins, trumpets, or any of the gold and silver dishes that were to be used inside the Lord’s temple. This money was used only to pay the workers who repaired the Lord’s Temple. 15 Those who were in charge of paying the workers did not have to give a report of how they spent the money, because they could be trusted.
16 People gave money when they offered guilt offerings and sin offerings, but that money was not used for the Lord’s temple. It belonged to the priests.
Joash Saves Jerusalem From Hazael
17 Hazael was the king of Aram. He went to fight against the city of Gath and defeated it. Then he made plans to go fight against Jerusalem.
18 Joash[b] and his ancestors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah—had all been kings of Judah. They had given many things to the Lord that were kept in his Temple. Joash gathered all these things and all the gold that was stored in the Temple and in his palace. He sent all this treasure to King Hazael of Aram, who then commanded his army to leave Jerusalem.
The Death of Joash
19 All the great things that Joash did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah.
20 Joash’s officers made plans against him. They killed Joash at the house of Millo on the road that goes down to Silla. 21 Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer were Joash’s officers. These men killed Joash.
The people buried Joash with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Amaziah became the new king after him.
Jehoahaz Begins His Rule
13 Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria. This was during the 23rd year that Joash son of Ahaziah was king in Judah. Jehoahaz ruled 17 years.
2 Jehoahaz did what the Lord considered wrong. Like Jeroboam son of Nebat, he committed sins that also caused the people of Israel to sin. And he never stopped doing those things. 3 Then the Lord was angry with Israel. He let King Hazael of Aram and Hazael’s son Ben-Hadad gain control of Israel.
The Lord Has Mercy on Israel
4 Then Jehoahaz begged the Lord to help them. The Lord listened to him because he had seen the terrible troubles that the king of Aram had caused the Israelites.
5 So the Lord sent a man to save Israel. The Israelites were free from the Arameans. So the Israelites went to their own homes, as they did before.
6 But the Israelites still did not stop committing the sins of the family of Jeroboam that caused Israel to sin. The Israelites continued committing the sins of Jeroboam. They also kept the Asherah poles in Samaria.
7 The king of Aram defeated Jehoahaz’s army and destroyed most of the men in the army. He left only 50 horse soldiers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. Jehoahaz’s soldiers were like chaff blown away by the wind at the time of threshing.
8 All the great things that Jehoahaz did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 9 Jehoahaz died and was buried with his ancestors. The people buried Jehoahaz in Samaria. His son Jehoash became the new king after him.
Jehoash’s Rule Over Israel
10 Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria. This was during the 37th year that Joash was king of Judah. Jehoash ruled Israel for 16 years. 11 He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin. Jehoash continued to commit those sins. 12 All the great things that Jehoash did and his wars against King Amaziah of Judah are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 13 Jehoash died and was buried with his ancestors. Jeroboam became the new king and sat on Jehoash’s throne. Jehoash was buried at Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Jehoash Visits Elisha
14 Elisha became sick, and later he died from this sickness. King Jehoash of Israel went to visit Elisha. Jehoash cried for him and said, “My father, my father! Is it time for the chariot of Israel and its horses?[c]”
15 Elisha said to Jehoash, “Take a bow and some arrows.”
Jehoash took a bow and some arrows. 16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” Jehoash put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha said, “Open the east window.” Jehoash opened the window. Then Elisha said, “Shoot.”
Jehoash shot. Then Elisha said, “This is the Lord’s arrow of victory over Aram! You will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you destroy them.”
18 Elisha said, “Take the arrows.” Jehoash took the arrows. Then Elisha said to him, “Hit on the ground.”
Jehoash hit the ground three times. Then he stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with Jehoash. Elisha said, “You should have hit five or six times! Then you would have defeated Aram until you destroyed it! But now, you will defeat Aram only three times.”
An Amazing Thing at Elisha’s Grave
20 Elisha died, and the people buried him.
One time in the spring a group of Moabite soldiers came to fight against Israel. 21 Some Israelites were burying a dead man when they saw that group of soldiers. The Israelites quickly threw the dead man into Elisha’s grave. As soon as the dead man touched the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and stood up on his feet.
Jehoash Wins Back Cities of Israel
22 During all the days that Jehoahaz ruled, King Hazael of Aram caused trouble to Israel. 23 But the Lord was kind to the Israelites. He had mercy and showed his care for them because of his agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He did not want them to be destroyed. He has never completely left them.
24 King Hazael of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad became the new king after him. 25 Before he died, Hazael had taken some cities in war from Jehoahaz, Jehoash’s father. But now Jehoash took back these cities from Hazael’s son Ben-Hadad. Jehoash defeated Ben-Hadad three times and took back the cities of Israel.
Joash Rebuilds the Temple
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah. Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba. 2 Joash did right in front of the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was living. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. Joash had sons and daughters.
4 Then later on, Joash decided to rebuild the Lord’s Temple. 5 Joash called the priests and the Levites together. He said to them, “Go out to the towns of Judah and gather the money all the Israelites pay every year. Use that money to rebuild your God’s Temple. Hurry and do this.” But the Levites didn’t hurry.
6 So King Joash called Jehoiada the leading priest. The king said, “Jehoiada, why haven’t you made the Levites bring in the tax money from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses, the Lord’s servant, and the Israelites used that tax money for the Tent of the Agreement.”
7 In the past, Athaliah’s sons broke into God’s Temple and used the holy things in the Lord’s Temple for their worship of the Baal gods. Athaliah was a very wicked woman.
8 King Joash gave a command for a box to be made and put outside the gate at the Lord’s Temple. 9 Then the Levites made an announcement in Judah and Jerusalem. They told the people to bring in the tax money for the Lord. That tax money is what Moses the servant of God had required the Israelites to give while they were in the desert. 10 All the leaders and the people were happy. They brought their money and put it in the box. They continued giving until the box was full. 11 Then the Levites would take the box to the king’s officials. They saw that the box was full of money. The king’s secretary and the leading priest’s officer came and took the money out of the box. Then they took the box back to its place again. They did this often and gathered much money. 12 Then King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the Lord’s Temple. And the people who worked on the Lord’s Temple hired skilled woodcarvers and carpenters to rebuild the Lord’s Temple. They also hired workers who knew how to work with iron and bronze to rebuild the Lord’s Temple.
13 The men who supervised the work were very faithful. The work to rebuild the Temple was successful. They built God’s Temple the way 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 Lord’s Temple. These things were used for the service in the Temple and for offering burnt offerings. They also made bowls and other things from gold and silver. The priests offered burnt offerings in the Lord’s Temple every day while Jehoiada was alive.
15 Jehoiada became old. He had a very long life, and he died when he was 130 years old. 16 The people buried Jehoiada in the City of David where the kings are buried. The people buried Jehoiada there because in his life he did much good in Israel for God and for God’s Temple.
17 After Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah came and bowed to King Joash. The king listened to the leaders. 18 They all stopped worshiping at the Temple of the Lord, the God their ancestors worshiped. Instead, they started worshiping Asherah poles and other idols. Because they sinned in this way, God was angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 19 God sent prophets to the people to bring them back to the Lord. The prophets warned them, but they refused to listen.
20 The Spirit of God filled Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood in front of the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you people refuse to obey the Lord’s commands? You will not be successful. You have left the Lord. So he has also left you!’”
21 But the people made plans against Zechariah. The king commanded the people to kill Zechariah, so they threw rocks at him until he was dead. The people did this in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. 22 Joash the king didn’t remember Jehoiada’s kindness to him. Jehoiada was Zechariah’s father. But 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. They sent all the valuable things to the king of Damascus. 24 The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord let them defeat the much larger army of Judah. This was a punishment for Joash because the people of Judah had left the Lord, the God their ancestors worshiped. 25 When the Arameans left Joash, he was badly wounded. His own servants made plans against him. They did this because Joash killed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest. The servants killed Joash on his own bed. After he died, the people buried him in the City of David, but not in the place where the kings are buried.
26 These are the servants who made plans against Joash: Zabad and Jehozabad. Zabad’s mother was Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad’s mother was Shimrith from Moab. 27 The story about Joash’s sons, the great prophecies against him, and how he rebuilt God’s Temple are written in the book, Commentary on the Kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became the new king after him.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International