Joash Repairs the Temple(A)
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what ·the Lord said was right [was pleasing/proper in the eyes/sight of the Lord] ·as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive [L all the days of Jehoiada the priest]. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and Joash ·had [fathered] sons and daughters.
4 Later, Joash decided to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 5 He ·called [assembled; summoned] the priests and the Levites together and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and gather the annual offering. Use it to repair the ·Temple [L house] of your God. Do this ·now [quickly; immediately].” But the Levites ·did not hurry [delayed].
6 So King Joash ·called for [summoned] Jehoiada the leading priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you made the Levites bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax money that Moses, the Lord’s servant, and the people of Israel used for the ·Holy Tent [L tent/tabernacle of the testimony/covenant]?”
7 In the past the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the ·Temple [L house] of God and used its ·holy things [sacred/dedicated objects] for worshiping the Baal idols.
8 King Joash commanded that a ·box for contributions [chest] be made. They put it outside, at the gate of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 9 Then the Levites made an ·announcement [proclamation; edict] in Judah and Jerusalem, telling people to bring to the Lord the ·tax money [levy] Moses, the servant of God, had made the Israelites give while they were in the ·desert [wilderness]. 10 All the ·officers [leaders; officials] and people ·were happy to bring [rejoiced and brought] their ·money [levies; contributions], and they put it in the box until the box was full. 11 When the Levites would take the box to the king’s ·officers [officials; accountants], they would see that ·it was full [there was a lot] of money. Then the king’s ·royal secretary [scribe] and the ·leading [chief; high] priest’s officer would come and ·take out the money [empty the chest] and return ·the box [L it] to its place. They did this ·often [L day after day] and gathered much money. 12 King Joash and Jehoiada gave the money to the people who worked on the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. And they hired ·stoneworkers [masons] and carpenters to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. They also hired people to work with iron and bronze to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house].
13 The people worked hard, and the work to ·repair [restore] the ·Temple [L house] ·went well [progressed]. They ·rebuilt [restored] the ·Temple [L house] of God ·to be as it was before [according to its original design/specifications], but even stronger. 14 When the workers finished, they brought the money that was left to King Joash and Jehoiada. They used that money to make ·utensils [articles] for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, ·utensils [articles] for the service in the ·Temple [L house] and for the burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17], and ·bowls [pans; ladles] and other ·utensils [articles] from gold and silver. Burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] were ·given every day [offered/sacrificed continually] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·while Jehoiada was alive [L all the days of Jehoiada].
15 Jehoiada grew old and ·lived many years [L full of days]. Then he died when he was one hundred thirty years old. 16 Jehoiada was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem] with the kings, because he had done much good in Judah for God and his ·Temple [L house].
Joash Does Evil
17 After Jehoiada died, the ·officers [officials] of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash, and he listened to ·them [their advice]. 18 The king and these leaders ·stopped worshiping in [abandoned] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. Instead, they began to ·worship [serve] the Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] and other idols. Because ·they did wrong [of their sin/guilt], ·God was angry with [L wrath came upon] the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Even though the Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him and even though the prophets ·warned [testified against] them, they refused to listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God ·entered [came upon] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “·This is what God says [T Thus says God]: ‘Why do you ·disobey [violate; transgress] the Lord’s commands? You will not ·be successful [prosper; succeed]. Because you have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, he has also ·left [abandoned; forsaken] you.’”
21 But ·the king and his officers made plans [they conspired; plotted] against Zechariah. At the king’s command they ·threw stones at [stoned] him in the courtyard of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord until he died. 22 King Joash did not remember Jehoiada’s ·kindness [loyalty; devotion] to him, so Joash ·killed [murdered] Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. ·Before [As] Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord ·see what you are doing and punish you [see and avenge].”
Aramea Attacks Judah(B)
23 At the ·end [L turning; C spring] of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the ·leaders [officials] of the people, and sent all the ·valuable things [plunder; spoil; booty] to their king in Damascus. 24 The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord handed over to them a very large army from Judah, because the people of Judah had ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. So Joash was ·punished [judged]. 25 When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own ·officers [officials] made plans against him because ·he had killed [L of the shed blood of] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they ·killed [murdered] Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem] but not in the ·graves [tombs] of the kings.
26 The ·officers who made plans [conspirators; plotters] against Joash were Jozabad and Jehozabad. Jozabad was the son of Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad was the son of Shimrith, a woman from Moab. 27 The story of Joash’s sons, the ·great [or many] ·prophecies [oracles] against him, and how he ·repaired [restored] the ·Temple [L house] of God ·are [L are they not…?] written in the ·book [scroll] of the kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became king in his place.