II Chronicles 24

¹Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zibiah, of Beer-sheba.

²And Joash did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.

⁴And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to restore the house of Jehovah.

⁵And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.

⁶And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?

⁷For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of Jehovah did they bestow upon the Baalim.

⁸So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of Jehovah.

⁹And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for Jehovah the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.

¹¹And it was so, that, at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of Jehovah, and also such as wrought iron and brass to repair the house of Jehovah.

¹³So the workmen wrought, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands, and they set up the house of God in its state, and strengthened it.

¹⁴And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of Jehovah, even vessels wherewith to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the house of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵But Jehoiada waxed old and was full of days, and he died; a hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.

¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.

¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.

¹⁸And they forsook the house of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.

¹⁹Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto Jehovah; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

²⁰And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of Jehovah, so that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken Jehovah, he hath also forsaken you.

²¹And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Jehovah.

²²Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, Jehovah look upon it, and require it.

²³And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the army of the Syrians came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.

²⁴For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; and Jehovah delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment upon Joash.

²⁵And when they were departed from him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.

²⁶And these are they that conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

II Chronicles 24

¹Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.

²And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴Some time later, Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD.

⁵So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly.” The Levites, however, did not make haste.

⁶So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?”

⁷For the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God and had even used the sacred objects of the house of the LORD for the Baals.

⁸At the king’s command a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the house of the LORD.

⁹And a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they were to bring to the LORD the tax imposed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought their contributions, and they dropped them in the chest until it was full.

¹¹Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king’s overseers and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal scribe and the officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this daily and gathered the money in abundance.

¹²Then the king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who supervised the labor on the house of the LORD to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, as well as workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.

¹³So the workmen labored, and in their hands the repair work progressed. They restored the house of God according to its specifications, and they reinforced it.

¹⁴When they were finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada to make with it the articles for the house of the LORD—utensils for the service and for the burnt offerings, dishes, and other objects of gold and silver. Throughout the days of Jehoiada, burnt offerings were presented regularly in the house of the LORD.

¹⁵When Jehoiada was old and full of years, he died at the age of 130.

¹⁶And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and His temple.

¹⁷After the death of Jehoiada, however, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them.

¹⁸They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.

¹⁹Nevertheless, the LORD sent prophets to bring the people back to Him and to testify against them; but they would not listen.

²⁰Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’”

²¹But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.

²²Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.”

²³In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.

²⁴Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.

²⁵And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶Those who conspired against Joash were Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷The accounts of the sons of Joash, as well as the many pronouncements about him and about the restoration of the house of God, are indeed written in the Treatise of the Book of the Kings. And his son Amaziah reigned in his place.