2 Chronicles 24 - Contemporary English Version (CEV)

King Joash of Judah

(2 Kings 12.1-16)

24 Joash was only 7 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 40 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.

²While Jehoiada the priest was alive, Joash obeyed the Lord by doing right. ³Jehoiada even chose two women for Joash to marry so he could have a family.

⁴Some time later, Joash decided it was time to repair the temple. ⁵He called together the priests and Levites and said, “Go everywhere in Judah and collect the annual tax from the people. I want this done at once—we need that money to repair the temple.”

But the Levites were in no hurry to follow the king's orders. ⁶^(A) So he sent for Jehoiada the high priest and asked, “Why didn't you send the Levites to collect the taxes? The Lord's servant Moses and the people agreed long ago that this tax would be collected and used to pay for the upkeep of the sacred tent. ⁷And now we need it to repair the temple because the sons of that evil woman Athaliah came in and wrecked it. They even used some of the sacred objects to worship the god Baal.”

⁸Joash gave orders for a wooden box to be made and had it placed outside, near the gate of the temple. ⁹He then sent letters everywhere in Judah and Jerusalem, asking everyone to bring their taxes to the temple, just as Moses had required their ancestors to do.

¹⁰The people and their leaders agreed, and they brought their money to Jerusalem and placed it in the box. ¹¹Each day, after the Levites took the box into the temple, the king's secretary and the high priest's assistant would dump out the money and count it. Then the empty box would be taken back outside.

This happened day after day, and soon a large amount of money was collected. ¹²Joash and Jehoiada turned the money over to the men who were supervising the repairs to the temple. They used the money to hire stonecutters, carpenters, and experts in working with iron and bronze.

¹³These workers went right to work repairing the temple, and when they were finished, it looked as good as new. ¹⁴They did not use all the tax money for the repairs, so the rest of it was handed over to Joash and Jehoiada, who then used it to make dishes and other gold and silver objects for the temple.

Sacrifices to please the Lord^[a] were offered regularly in the temple for as long as Jehoiada lived. ¹⁵He died at the ripe old age of 130 years, ¹⁶and he was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem, because he had done so much good for the people of Israel, for God, and for the temple.

Joash Turns Away from the Lord

¹⁷After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted. ¹⁸The people of Judah soon stopped worshiping in the temple of the Lord God and started worshiping idols and the symbols of the goddess Asherah. These sinful things made the Lord God angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ¹⁹but he still sent prophets who warned them to turn back to him. The people refused to listen.

²⁰^(B) God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: “Why are you disobeying me and my laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you.”

^21-22King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “I pray that the Lord will see this and punish all of you.”

Joash Is Killed

²³In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all of the nation's leaders. They collected everything of value that belonged to the people and took it back to their king in Damascus. ²⁴The Syrian army was very small, but the Lord let them defeat Judah's large army, because he was punishing Joash and the people of Judah for turning away from him.

^25-26Joash was severely wounded during the battle, and as soon as the Syrians left Judah, two of his officials, Zabad and Jehozabad,^[b] decided to revenge the death of Zechariah. They plotted and killed Joash while he was in bed, recovering from his wounds. Joash was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. ²⁷The History of the Kings also tells more about the sons of Joash, what the prophets said about him, and how he repaired the temple. Amaziah son of Joash became king after his father's death.

Footnotes

24.14 Sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 1.6.
24.25,26 Zabad and Jehozabad: Hebrew “Zabad son of Shimeath from Ammon and Jehozabad son of Shimrith from Moab.”

Cross references

24.6 : Ex 30.11-16.
24.20,21 : Mt 23.35; Lk 11.51.

2 Chronicles 24 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

24 A son of seven years [is] Joash in his reigning, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Zibiah of Beer-Sheba. 2 And Joash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada taketh for him two wives, and he beg...
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2 Chronicles 24 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

24 Joash was of seven years (Joash was seven years old), when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And he did that, that was good before the Lord, in all the days of Jehoiada, the priest. 3 And Joash took two wives, of which he...
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2 Chronicles 24 - World English Bible (WEB)

24 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, of Beersheba. 2 Joash did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he became the father of sons and d...
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2 Chronicles 24 - The Voice (VOICE)

It is significant that the chronicler does not end Athaliah’s story with a summary of her reign or the location of her burial as all other kings’ stories end. She is a usurper who is not destined to rule Israel because she is not part of the Davidic line. But her reign does not nullify God’s promise...
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2 Chronicles 24 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 40 years. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of Adonai all the days of Jehoiada the kohen. 3 Jehoiada took two wives by whom he fathered sons and dau...
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2 Chronicles 24 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Jo′ash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zib′iah of Beer-sheba. 2 And Jo′ash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoi′ada the priest. 3 Jehoi′ada got for him two wives, and h...
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2 Chronicles 24 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

2 Chronicles 24 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada. 3 Jehoiada got two wives for him, and he became the...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada. 3 Jehoiada got two wives for him, and he became...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

2 Chronicles 24 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.(A)2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada.(B)3 Jehoiada got two wives for him, and he became t...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and he had ...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New Life Version (NLV)

Joash Becomes King24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. And he ruled forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the religious leader. 3 Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became t...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Joash Repairs the Temple(A)24 Joash (B)was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash (C)did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Joash repairs the temple24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him, ...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New International Version (NIV)

Joash Repairs the Temple(A)(B)24 Joash 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. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord(C) all the years of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for hi...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Joash Repairs the Temple24 Joash 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. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Joash lived that way as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. 3 Jehoiada chose tw...
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2 Chronicles 24 - New English Translation (NET)

Joash’s Reign24 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother[a] was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 2 Joash did what the Lord approved[b] throughout the lifetime[c] of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him who gave him son...
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