Joash Repairs the Temple
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. 2Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest. 3Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.
4Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord. 5He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites did not act at once.
6Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in 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 covenant law?”
7Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.
8At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord. 9A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness. 10All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. 11Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. 12The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.
13The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. 14When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord’s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord.
15Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty. 16He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.
The Wickedness of Joash
17After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. 18They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem. 19Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.
20Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’ ”
21But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”
23At the turn of the year,24:23 Probably in the spring the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. 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 hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. 25When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in 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 him were Zabad,24:26 A variant of Jozabad son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith24:26 A variant of Shomer a Moabite woman. 27The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.
Joash Repairs the Temple
1Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 40 years. His mother’s name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba. 2Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Joash lived that way as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. 3Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. They had sons and daughters by Joash.
4Some time later Joash decided to make the Lord’s temple look like new again. 5He called together the priests and Levites. He said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah. Collect the money that the nation of Israel owes every year. Use it to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites didn’t do it right away.
6So the king sent for Jehoiada the chief priest. He said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in the tax from Judah and Jerusalem? It was set up by the Lord’s servant Moses and the whole community of Israel. It was used for the tent where the tablets of the covenant law were kept.”
7The children of that evil woman Athaliah had broken into God’s temple. They had used even its sacred objects for the gods that were named Baal.
8King Joash commanded that a wooden chest be made. It was placed outside near the gate of the Lord’s temple. 9Then a message went out in Judah and Jerusalem. It said that the people should bring the tax to the Lord. God’s servant Moses had required Israel to pay that tax when they were in the desert. 10All the officials and people gladly brought their money. They dropped it into the chest until it was full. 11The chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials. Every time the officials saw there was a large amount of money in the chest, it was emptied out. The royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest came and emptied it. Then they carried it back to its place. They did it regularly. They collected a great amount of money. 12The king and Jehoiada gave it to the people who were doing the work on the Lord’s temple. They hired people who could lay the stones and people who could work with wood. They also hired people who could work with iron and bronze. They hired all of them to repair the temple.
13The men in charge of the work did their best. The repairs went very well under them. They rebuilt God’s temple. They did it in keeping with its original plans. They made the temple even stronger. 14So they finished the work. Then they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to pay for the objects that were made for the Lord’s temple. The objects were used for serving at the temple. They were also used for the burnt offerings. The objects included dishes and other things made out of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were sacrificed continually at the Lord’s temple.
15Jehoiada had become very old. He died at the age of 130. 16He was buried with the kings in the City of David. That’s because he had done so many good things in Israel for God and his temple.
The Evil Things Joash Did
17After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah came to King Joash. They bowed down to him. He listened to them. 18They turned their backs on the temple of the Lord, the God of their people. They worshiped poles made to honor the female god named Asherah. They also worshiped statues of other gods. Because Judah and Jerusalem were guilty of sin, God became angry with them. 19The Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him. The prophets told the people what they were doing wrong. But the people wouldn’t listen.
20Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the priest. He was the son of Jehoiada. Zechariah stood in front of the people. He told them, “God says, ‘Why do you refuse to obey my commands? You will not have success. You have deserted me. So I have deserted you.’ ”
21But the people made evil plans against Zechariah. The king ordered them to kill Zechariah by throwing stones at him. They did it in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22King Joash didn’t remember how kind Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had been to him. So he killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying he said, “May the Lord see this. May he hold you responsible.”
23In the spring, the army of Aram marched into Judah and Jerusalem against Joash. They killed all the leaders of the people. They took a large amount of goods from Judah. They sent it to their king in Damascus. 24The army of Aram had come with only a few men. But the Lord allowed them to win the battle over a much larger army. Judah had deserted the Lord, the God of their people. That’s why the Lord punished Joash. 25The army of Aram pulled back. They left Joash badly wounded. His officials planned to do evil things to him. That’s because he murdered the son of Jehoiada the priest. They killed Joash in his bed. So he died. He was buried in the City of David. But he wasn’t placed in the tombs of the kings.
26Those who made the plans against Joash were Zabad and Jehozabad. Zabad was the son of Shimeath. She was from Ammon. Jehozabad was the son of Shimrith. She was from Moab. 27The story of the sons of Joash is written in the notes on the records of the kings. The many prophecies about him are written there too. So is the record of how he made God’s temple look like new again. Joash’s son Amaziah became the next king after him.
