II Chronicles 24

¹Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he was ruling for forty years in Jerusalem: his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

²And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was living.

³And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

⁴Now after this Joash had a desire to put the house of the Lord into good order again;

⁵And getting together the priests and Levites, he said to them, Go out into the towns of Judah year by year, and get from all Israel money to keep the house of your God in good condition; and see that this is done without loss of time. The Levites, however, were slow in doing so.

⁶Then the king sent for Jehoiada, the chief priest, and said to him, Why have you not given the Levites orders that the tax fixed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and by the meeting of Israel, for the Tent of witness, is to be got in from Judah and Jerusalem and handed over?

⁷For the house of the Lord had been broken up by Athaliah, that evil woman, and her sons; and all its holy things they had given to the Baals.

⁸So at the king's order they made a chest and put it outside the doorway of the house of the Lord.

⁹And an order was sent out through all Judah and Jerusalem that payment was to be made to the Lord of the tax which Moses, the servant of God, had put on Israel in the waste land.

¹⁰And all the chiefs and all the people came gladly and put their money into the chest, till they had all given.

¹¹So when the chest was taken to the king's servants by the Levites, and they saw that there was much money in it, the king's scribe and the chief priest's servant took the money out, and put the chest back in its place. They did this day by day, and got together a great amount of money.

¹²Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who were responsible for getting the work done on the Lord's house, and with it they got wall-builders and woodworkers and metal-workers to put the house of the Lord in good order again.

¹³So the workmen did their work, making good what was damaged and building up the house of God till it was strong and beautiful again.

¹⁴And when the work was done, they took the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and it was used for making the vessels for the house of the Lord, all the vessels needed for the offerings, the spoons and the vessels of gold and silver. And as long as Jehoiada was living, the regular burned offerings were offered in the house of the Lord.

¹⁵But Jehoiada became old and full of days, and he came to his end; he was a hundred and thirty years old at the time of his death.

¹⁶And they put him into his last resting-place in the town of David, among the kings, because he had done good in Israel for God and for his house.

¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada, the chiefs of Judah came and went down on their faces before the king. Then the king gave ear to them.

¹⁸And they gave up the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and became worshippers of pillars of wood and of the images; and because of this sin of theirs, wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁹And the Lord sent them prophets to make them come back to him; and they gave witness against them, but they would not give ear.

²⁰Then the spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, and, getting up before the people, he said to them, God has said, Why do you go against the orders of the Lord, so that everything goes badly for you? because you have given up the Lord, he has given you up.

²¹But when they had made a secret design against him, he was stoned with stones, by the king's order, in the outer square of the Lord's house.

²²So King Joash did not keep in mind how good Jehoiada his father had been to him, but put his son to death. And in the hour of his death he said, May the Lord see it and take payment!

²³Now in the spring, the army of the Aramaeans came up against him; they came against Judah and Jerusalem, putting to death all the great men of the people and sending all the goods they took from them to the king of Damascus.

²⁴For though the army of Aram was only a small one, the Lord gave a very great army into their hands, because they had given up the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they put into effect the punishment of Joash.

²⁵And when they had gone away from him, (for he was broken with disease,) his servants made a secret design against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they put him to death on his bed; and they put his body into the earth in the town of David, but not in the resting-place of the kings.

²⁶Those who made designs against him were Zabad, the son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman.

²⁷Now the story of his sons, and all the words said by the prophet against him, and the building up again of the Lord's house, are recorded in the account in the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son became king in his place.

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 Beersheba.

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

³Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he became the father of sons and daughters.

⁴It happened after this, that Joash intended to restore the house of the Lord.

⁵He gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather money to repair the house of your God from all Israel from year to year. See that you expedite this matter." However the Levites did not do it right away.

⁶The king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, "Why haven't you required of the Levites to bring in the tax of Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the assembly of Israel, out of Judah and out of Jerusalem, for the tent of the testimony?"

⁷For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up God's house; and they also gave all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.

⁸So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the Lord.

⁹They made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness.

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

¹¹It was so, that whenever the chest was brought to 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.

¹²The king and Jehoiada gave it to such as 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 such as worked iron and brass to repair the house of the Lord.

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

¹⁴When they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, of which were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels with which to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. They offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

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

¹⁶They 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 listened to them.

¹⁸They forsook the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.

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

²⁰The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of the Lord, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you.'"

²¹They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.

²²Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, "May the Lord look at it, and repay it."

²³It happened 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 their spoil to the king of Damascus.

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

²⁵When they were departed for him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶These are those who 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 on him, and the rebuilding of God's house, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. Amaziah his son reigned in his place.