Jehoiada

16Then Jehoiada made a promise with the king and all the people. They promised to be the LORD's people.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD’s people.

17So all the people went to the temple of Baal, a false god. They tore it down. They smashed the altars and the statues to pieces. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.

Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

NoteBaal was a god that some people prayed to. They believed he sent rain to grow their food. A temple was a house built for a god. The King James calls the statues "images." They were figures of Baal made of wood or stone.

18Jehoiada put the priests and Levites back in charge of the LORD's house. King David had picked them for this work long ago. They were to burn the gifts to the LORD, just as Moses wrote in God's law. They did it with joy and singing, the way David had planned.

Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.

NoteA burnt offering was a gift given to God. An animal was laid on the altar and burned there. Moses led God's people many years before this. God gave Moses rules, and Moses wrote them down.

19He put guards at the gates of the LORD's house. Nothing unclean was allowed to come inside.

And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.

NoteThe King James calls these guards "porters." A porter here means a doorkeeper, not a bag carrier. "Unclean" did not mean muddy or dirty. God's rules said what could come near his house. Anything else had to wait outside.

20Then he gathered the army leaders, the important men, and the rulers. All the people of the land came too. They brought the king down from the LORD's house. They went through the Upper Gate into the palace. They sat the king on his royal throne.

And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

NoteThe Upper Gate was a doorway between the temple and the palace. A throne is the special chair a king sits on. Sitting down on it showed he was truly king now.

21All the people of the land were glad. The city was calm and quiet, because Athaliah had been put to death.

And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Note"Quiet" here means safe and calm. The fighting was over, and no one was afraid.

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.

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.

NoteJoash was still a small boy when he became king. Grown-ups helped him rule until he grew up. Jerusalem was the main city of his land.

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

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

NoteA priest was a man who led worship at God's house. Priests brought the people's gifts to God for them.

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

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

NoteBack then a king was allowed to have more than one wife. Kings often married so they would have many children.

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

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

NoteThe temple was a large stone building in Jerusalem. It was the one place built for worshiping the LORD. It was very old by now and needed fixing.

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.

And 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.

NoteThe Levites were one big family group in Israel. God chose them to help the priests at the temple. Judah was the part of the land where Joash was king.

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."

And 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?

NoteThe holy tent was a special tent Israel used long before. They carried it with them and worshiped God there. Moses was the leader who brought Israel out of Egypt.

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.

For 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.

NoteAthaliah was Joash's grandmother. She had ruled before him and hurt many people. The Baals were pretend gods that people nearby prayed to.

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

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

NoteThe box was like a big locked bank for gifts. People could drop money in as they walked by.

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.

And 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.

NoteLong before, Moses told each person to give a little silver. That money paid for the holy tent and its care.

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.

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

NoteThe King James calls the leaders "princes." Here that does not mean the king's sons. It means important men who helped run the country.

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.

Now 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.

NoteThe king's writer kept lists and records for him. Very few people back then could read or write.

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.

And 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.

NoteBronze is a hard metal. People made it by melting copper and tin together.

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.

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

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.

And 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.

NoteAn offering was a gift given to God. Some gifts were animals burned on a stone table called an altar. The smoke going up showed the gift was for God.

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

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

NoteThe King James says he "was full of days." That means he had lived a long, complete life.

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.

And 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.

NoteThe City of David was the oldest part of Jerusalem. It was named after King David, who lived long before. Being buried near the kings was a great honor.

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

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

NoteBowing low was how people showed honor to a king. These leaders wanted Joash to listen to their ideas.

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.

And 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.

NoteAn Asherah pole was a tall wooden pole. People set them up to worship a pretend goddess named Asherah. An idol is a statue that people pray to.

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.

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

NoteA prophet was a person who told others what God said. God sent them to warn people who were going the wrong way.

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."

And 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.

Note"The Spirit of God came upon" him means God gave him the words. "Thus saith God" means "this is what God says."

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.

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

NoteThrowing stones was how people put someone to death long ago. The yard was the open space just outside the temple building.

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."

Thus 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.

NoteJehoiada was not really Joash's father. He had cared for Joash like a father when Joash was small.