2 Chronicles

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beersheba.

1Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was named Zibiah, and she came from Beersheba.

2And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

2Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He did this as long as the priest Jehoiada was alive.

3And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.

3Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. Joash had sons and daughters.

4And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD.

4Later on, Joash decided to fix up the temple. The temple was the house where people worshiped the LORD.

5And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.

5Joash called together the priests and the Levites, the men who helped at the temple. He said, "Go to the towns of Judah. Collect the money that all Israel gives each year. Use it to fix the house of your God. Do this quickly." But the Levites did not hurry.

6And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?

6So the king called for Jehoiada, the leading priest. He asked, "Why have you not made the Levites collect the money? Moses, the servant of the LORD, told Israel to pay it. The people agreed to it long ago, for the holy tent where God met them."

Note"The holy tent" is the tent where the people of Israel worshiped God while they traveled in the desert, long before the temple was built.

7For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.

7The sons of the wicked woman Athaliah had broken into God's house. They had taken the holy things from the temple. They used them to worship the false gods called the Baals.

8And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD.

8The king gave an order, so they made a big wooden box. They put it outside, by the gate of the LORD's house.

9And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

9Then they sent word through Judah and Jerusalem. The people were told to bring the money to the LORD. It was the money Moses had asked Israel for in the desert.

10And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.

10All the leaders and all the people were glad. They brought their money and dropped it in the box. They kept giving until the box was full.

11Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

11The Levites carried the box to the king's officers. When the officers saw all the money, the king's writer and the chief priest's helper came. They emptied the box and carried it back to its place. They did this every day and collected a lot of money.

12And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD.

12The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the men in charge of the work. Those men hired stone workers and wood workers to fix the temple. They also hired men who worked with iron and bronze.

13So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.

13So the workmen did their job, and the repairs went well. They made God's house just as it was meant to be. They also made it strong again.

14And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

14When the work was done, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make things for the temple. They made bowls and dishes for the services and the offerings. Some were made of gold and some of silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, offerings were burned at the temple every day.

15But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.

15Jehoiada grew very old, and then he died. He was one hundred and thirty years old.

16And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.

16They buried him in the City of David, where the kings were buried. They did this because he had done good in Israel, for God and for God's house.

17Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.

17After Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah came to the king. They bowed low to him, and the king listened to them.

18And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

18The people stopped going to the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers. They began to worship Asherah poles and idols instead. Because of this wrong, anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

19Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

19Still the LORD sent prophets to them, people who told others what God said. The prophets told them to come back to the LORD. They warned the people, but the people would not listen.

20And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.

20Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "God says this: Why do you break the LORD's commands? You will not do well. You have left the LORD, so he has left you."

21And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.

21But the people made a plan against Zechariah. The king gave the order, and they threw stones at him until he died. This happened in the yard of the LORD's house.

22Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.

22King Joash forgot the kindness Jehoiada had shown him. Instead, he killed Jehoiada's son. As Zechariah lay dying, he said, "May the LORD see this and make you answer for it."

23And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.

23In the spring, the army of Aram came to fight Joash. They came into Judah and Jerusalem. They killed all the leaders of the people. Then they sent everything they took to their king in Damascus.

NoteThe KJV says "at the end of the year." This means springtime, which was when armies usually went out to fight. Syria here is the country of Aram, north of Israel.

24For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.

24The army of Aram came with only a few men. Even so, the LORD let them beat a much bigger army. This happened because the people had left the LORD, the God of their fathers. So Joash was punished.

25And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.

25When the army of Aram left, Joash was badly hurt. His own servants made a plan against him. They were angry that he had killed the son of Jehoiada the priest. They killed Joash in his bed. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

26And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess.

26These are the men who planned against him. One was Zabad, whose mother Shimeath was from Ammon. The other was Jehozabad, whose mother Shimrith was from Moab.

27Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

27The stories about his sons are written down. So are the many warnings about him and the fixing of God's house. You can read them in the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became king after him.