2 Chronicles 24 - Good News Translation (GNT)

King Joash of Judah^(A)

24 Joash became king of Judah at the age of seven, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was Zibiah from the city of Beersheba. ²He did what was pleasing to the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. ³Jehoiada chose two wives for King Joash, and they bore him sons and daughters.

⁴After he had been king for a while, Joash decided to have the Temple repaired. ⁵He ordered the priests and the Levites to go to the cities of Judah and collect from all the people enough money to make the annual repairs on the Temple. He told them to act promptly, but the Levites delayed, ⁶^(B)so he called in Jehoiada, their leader, and demanded, “Why haven't you seen to it that the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax which Moses, the servant of the Lord, required the people^[a] to pay for support of the Tent of the Lord's presence?”

(⁷The followers of Athaliah, that corrupt woman,^[b] had damaged the Temple and had used many of the sacred objects in the worship of Baal.)

⁸The king ordered the Levites to make a box for contributions and to place it at the Temple gate. ⁹They sent word throughout Jerusalem and Judah for everyone to bring to the Lord the tax which Moses, God's servant, had first collected in the wilderness. ¹⁰This pleased the people and their leaders, and they brought their tax money and filled the box with it. ¹¹Every day the Levites would take the box to the royal official who was in charge of it. Whenever it was full, the royal secretary and the High Priest's representative would take the money out and return the box to its place. And so they collected a large sum of money.

¹²The king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who were in charge of repairing the Temple, and they hired stonemasons, carpenters, and metalworkers to make the repairs. ¹³All of them worked hard, and they restored the Temple to its original condition, as solid as ever. ¹⁴When the repairs were finished, the remaining gold and silver was given to the king and Jehoiada, who used it to have bowls and other utensils made for the Temple.

Jehoiada's Policies Are Reversed

As long as Jehoiada was alive, sacrifices were offered regularly at the Temple. ¹⁵After reaching the very old age of a hundred and thirty, he died. ¹⁶They buried him in the royal tombs in David's City in recognition of the service he had done for the people of Israel, for God, and for the Temple.

¹⁷But once Jehoiada was dead, the leaders of Judah persuaded King Joash to listen to them instead. ¹⁸And so the people stopped worshiping in the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and began to worship idols and the images of the goddess Asherah. Their guilt for these sins brought the Lord's anger on Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹The Lord sent prophets to warn them to return to him, but the people refused to listen. ²⁰^(C)Then the spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood where the people could see him and called out, “The Lord God asks why you have disobeyed his commands and are bringing disaster on yourselves! You abandoned him, so he has abandoned you!” ²¹King Joash joined in a conspiracy against Zechariah, and on the king's orders the people stoned Zechariah in the Temple courtyard. ²²The king forgot about the loyal service that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had given him, and he had Zechariah killed. As Zechariah was dying, he called out, “May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you!”

The End of Joash's Reign

²³When autumn came that year, the Syrian army attacked Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the leaders, and took large amounts of loot back to Damascus. ²⁴The Syrian army was small, but the Lord let them defeat a much larger Judean army because the people had abandoned him, the Lord God of their ancestors. In this way King Joash was punished. ²⁵He was severely wounded, and when the enemy withdrew, two of his officials plotted against him and killed him in his bed to avenge the murder of the son^[c] of Jehoiada the priest. He was buried in David's City, but not in the royal tombs. (²⁶Those who plotted against him were Zabad, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shimrith.) ²⁷The Commentary on the Book of Kings contains the stories of the sons of Joash, the prophecies spoken against him, and the record of how he rebuilt the Temple. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 24:6 Probable text required the people; Hebrew unclear.
2 Chronicles 24:7 that corrupt woman; or whom she corrupted.
2 Chronicles 24:25 Some ancient translations son; Hebrew sons.

Cross references

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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