II Chronicles 24
1Jehoash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2All the days of the priest Jehoiada, Jehoash did what was pleasing to GOD.
3Jehoiada took two wives for him, by whom he had sons and daughters.
4Afterward, Joash decided to renovate the House of GOD.
5He assembled the priests and the Levites and charged them as follows: “Go out to the towns of Judah and collect money from all Israel for the annual repair of the House of your God. Do it quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly.
6The king summoned Jehoiada the chief and said to him, “Why have you not seen to it that the Levites brought the tax imposed by Moses, the servant of GOD, and the congregation of Israel from Judah and Jerusalem to the Tent of the Pact?”
7For the children of the wicked Athaliah had violated the House of God and had even used the sacred things of the House of GOD for the Baals.
8The king ordered that a chest be made and placed on the outside of the gate of the House of GOD.
9A proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem to bring the tax imposed on Israel in the wilderness by Moses, the servant of God.
10All the officers and all the people gladly brought it and threw it into the chest till it was full.
11Whenever the chest was brought to the royal officers by the Levites, and they saw that it contained much money, the royal scribe and the agent of the chief priest came and emptied out the chest and carried it back to its place. They did this day by day, and much money was collected.
12The king and Jehoiada delivered the money to those who oversaw the tasks connected with the work of the House of GOD. They hired masons and carpenters to renovate the House of GOD, as well as artisans in iron and bronze to repair the House of GOD.
13The overseers did their work; under them the work went well and they restored the House of God to its original form and repaired it.
14When they had finished, they brought the money that was left over to the king and Jehoiada; it was made into utensils for the House of GOD, service vessels: buckets and ladles, golden and silver vessels. Burnt offerings were offered up regularly in the House of GOD all the days of Jehoiada.
15Jehoiada reached a ripe old age and died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death.
16They buried him in the City of David together with the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and on behalf of God and God’s House.
17But after the death of Jehoiada, the officers of Judah came, bowing low to the king; and the king listened to them.
18They forsook the House of the ETERNAL God of their ancestors to serve the sacred posts and idols; and there was wrath upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this guilt of theirs.
19GOD sent prophets among them to bring them back; they admonished them but they would not pay heed.
20Then the spirit of God enveloped Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest; he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God said: Why do you transgress the commandments of GOD when you cannot succeed? Since you have forsaken GOD, you yourselves have been forsaken.”
21They conspired against him and pelted him with stones in the court of the House of GOD, by order of the king.
22King Joash disregarded the loyalty that his father Jehoiada had shown to him, and killed his son. As he was dying, he said, “May GOD see and requite it.”
23At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against him; they invaded Judah and Jerusalem, and wiped out all the officers of the people from among the people, and sent all the booty they took to the king of Damascus.
24The invading army of Aram had come with but a few men, but GOD delivered a very large army into their hands, because they had forsaken the ETERNAL God of their ancestors. They inflicted punishments on Joash.
25When they withdrew, having left him with many wounds, his courtiers plotted against him because of the murder of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in bed. He died and was buried in the City of David; he was not buried in the tombs of the kings.
26Those who conspired against him were: Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.
27As to his sons, and the many pronouncements against him, and his rebuilding of the House of God, they are recorded in the story in the book of the kings. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.