2 ChroniclesChapter 24

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¹Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba. ²Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD as long as Jehoiada the priest lived. ³Jehoiada chose two wives for him. He had sons and daughters. ⁴Some time later, Joash made up his mind to repair the house of the LORD. ⁵He called together the priests and Levites. He told them, "Go out to the cities of Judah. Collect the money that all Israel owes each year. Use it to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly." But the Levites did not hurry. ⁶So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest. He said, "Why haven't you made the Levites bring in the tax from Judah and Jerusalem? Moses the servant of the LORD and the people of Israel set this tax for the Tent of the Testimony." ⁷The sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God. They had even used the holy things of the house of the LORD for the Baals. ⁸At the king's command, a chest was made. It was placed outside, at the gate of the house of the LORD. ⁹Then word went out in Judah and Jerusalem. The people were to bring the tax to the LORD. Moses the servant of God had set this tax on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰All the officers and all the people were glad. They brought their gifts and dropped them into the chest until it was full. ¹¹The Levites would bring the chest to the king's officials. When they saw there was a lot of money, the royal scribe and the high priest's officer would come. They would empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this every day and gathered a lot of money. ¹²The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the men in charge of the work on the house of the LORD. They hired stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD. They also hired workers in iron and bronze to repair it. ¹³So the workers worked hard, and the repairs moved ahead under their hands. They rebuilt the house of God the way it was planned. And they made it strong. ¹⁴When they were done, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. With it they made things for the house of the LORD. They made tools for the service and for the burnt offerings. They made dishes and other things of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were given in the house of the LORD all the time. ¹⁵Jehoiada grew old and lived a long, full life. Then he died at the age of 130. ¹⁶Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done good in Israel for God and his temple. ¹⁷But after Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. ¹⁸They left the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers. They served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem because of their guilt. ¹⁹Still, the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him. The prophets warned them, but the people would not listen. ²⁰Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up in front of the people and said, "This is what God says: 'Why do you break the LORD's commands, so that you cannot do well? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.'" ²¹But they made a plot against Zechariah. The king gave the order, and they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the house of the LORD. ²²King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah's father Jehoiada had shown him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada's son. As Zechariah lay dying, he said, "May the LORD see this and make you pay." 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. They sent everything they took to their king in Damascus. ²⁴The army of Aram had come with only a few men. But the LORD handed a very large army over to them. Judah had turned away from the LORD, the God of their fathers. So judgment was carried out on Joash. ²⁵The Arameans left Joash badly wounded. Then his own servants made a plot against him, because he had killed the son of Jehoiada the priest. They killed him on his bed. So he died. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶These were the men who plotted against Joash: Zabad son of Shimeath, a woman from Ammon, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith, a woman from Moab. ²⁷The story of Joash's sons is written down. So are the many messages about him and the story of how the house of God was repaired. They are in the Notes on the Book of the Kings. And his son Amaziah became king after him.