1 ARST Joash was seven years old when he became the king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from the city of Beersheba. BSB BSB: 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 ARST Joash did what pleased Yahweh all during the years that Jehoiada was the high priest. BSB BSB: And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
3 ARST Jehoiada chose two women to be Joash’s wives. And they bore Joash sons and daughters. BSB BSB: Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.
4 ARST Some years later, Joash decided that the temple should be repaired. BSB BSB: Some time later, Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD.
5 ARST He summoned the priests and other descendants of Levi and said to them, “Go to the cities of Judah and collect from the people the tax money that they are required to pay each year, and use that money to pay for repairing the temple. Do it immediately.” But the descendants of Levi did not do it immediately. BSB BSB: So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly.” The Levites, however, did not make haste.
6 ARST So the king summoned Jehoiada and said to him, “Why have you not required the descendants of Levi to bring to Jerusalem from various places in Judah the annual tax that Moses said that the people of Judah must pay, for taking care of the sacred tent?” BSB BSB: So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?”
7 ARST The temple needed to be repaired because the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had entered into the temple and had wrecked some of the things, and had also used some of the sacred items that were in it for the worship of Baal. BSB BSB: For the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God and had even used the sacred objects of the house of the LORD for the Baals.
8 ARST So, obeying what the king commanded, the descendants of Levi made a chest and placed it outside the temple, at one of the entrances. BSB BSB: At the king’s command a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the house of the LORD.
9 ARST Then the king sent letters everywhere in Judah, requesting everyone to bring their tax money to the temple, as Moses had required the Israelite people to do when they were in the wilderness. BSB BSB: And a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they were to bring to the LORD the tax imposed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.
10 ARST All the officials and the other people agreed, and they brought their contributions gladly. They put the money into the chest until it was full. BSB BSB: All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought their contributions, and they dropped them in the chest until it was full.
11 ARST Whenever the descendants of Levi brought the chest to the king’s officials, and they saw that there was a lot of money in it, the king’s secretary and the assistant to the high priest would take all the money from the chest and then put the chest back in its place. They did this frequently, and they collected a huge amount of money. BSB BSB: Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king’s overseers and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal scribe and the officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this daily and gathered the money in abundance.
12 ARST The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the men who were supervising the work of repairing the temple. Those men hired stoneworkers and carpenters to repair the temple. They also hired men who worked with iron and bronze to repair the things in the temple that were broken. BSB BSB: Then the king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who supervised the labor on the house of the LORD to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, as well as workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.
13 ARST The men who did the repair work worked hard, and the work of repairing the temple progressed. They rebuilt the temple to make it as it was originally, and they made it stronger. BSB BSB: So the workmen labored, and in their hands the repair work progressed. They restored the house of God according to its specifications, and they reinforced it.
14 ARST When they had finished the repair work, they brought to the king and to Jehoiada the money that they had not used for the repairs. That money was used to make things to use for performing the sacrifices that were to be completely burned on the altar, and to make bowls and other gold and silver things for the temple. As long as Joash lived, the people continually brought to the temple sacrifices that were to be completely burned on the altar. BSB BSB: When they were finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the house of the LORD—utensils for the service and for the burnt offerings, dishes, and other objects of gold and silver. Throughout the days of Jehoiada, burnt offerings were presented regularly in the house of the LORD.
15 ARST Jehoiada became very old. He died when he was 130 years old. BSB BSB: When Jehoiada was old and full of years, he died at the age of 130.
16 ARST He was buried where the kings had been buried, in the part of Jerusalem called the city of David. He was buried there because of the good things that he had done in Judah for God and for God’s temple. BSB BSB: And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and His temple.
17 ARST After Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah went to Joash, bowed in front of him, and persuaded him to do what they wanted. BSB BSB: After the death of Jehoiada, however, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them.
18 ARST So they and the other people stopped worshiping at the temple, and they started worshiping the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah and other idols. Because they were doing those sinful things, God was very angry with the people of Jerusalem and with the people in other places in Judah. BSB BSB: They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.
19 ARST Although Yahweh sent prophets to persuade them to return to him, and although the prophets testified about the evil things that they had done, the people would not pay attention. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, the LORD sent prophets to bring the people back to Him and to testify against them, but they would not listen.
20 ARST Then God’s Spirit came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the high priest. He stood up front of the people and said, “This is what God says: Why are you violating Yahweh’s commandments? You will not be able prosper if you do that. Since you have stopped obeying Yahweh, he will stop taking care of you.” BSB BSB: Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’”
21 ARST But the people planned to kill Zechariah. And the king permitted them to kill him. They killed him by throwing stones at him in the temple courtyard. BSB BSB: But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.
22 ARST King Joash forgot about how Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had been kind to him. So he commanded them to kill Jehoiada’s son Zechariah, who said as he was dying, “I hope that Yahweh will see what you are doing to me and punish you for doing it.” BSB BSB: Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.”
23 ARST Near the end of that year, the army of Aram marched to attack the army of Joash. They invaded Judah and attacked Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They seized many valuable things and sent them to their king in Damascus, their capital city. BSB BSB: In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.
24 ARST The army of Aram that came to Judah was very small, but Yahweh allowed them to defeat the large army of Judah, because he was punishing Joash and the other people of Judah for having abandoned him, the God whom their ancestors worshiped. BSB BSB: Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.
25 ARST Before the battle ended, Joash was severely wounded. Then his officials decided to kill him for murdering Zechariah son of Jehoiada the high priest. They killed him while he was in his bed. They buried him in the part of Jerusalem called the city of David, but they did not bury him in the place where the other kings had been buried. BSB BSB: And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
26 ARST Those who conspired to kill him were Zabad son of Shimeath, who was a woman from the Ammon people group, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith, who was a woman from the Moab people group. BSB BSB: Those who conspired against Joash were Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.
27 ARST An account of the things that were done by the sons of Joash and the many prophecies about Joash and what he did to repair the temple are written in the commentary on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Then after Joash died, Amaziah his son became the king. BSB BSB: The accounts of the sons of Joash and the many pronouncements about him, and of the restoration of the house of God, are indeed written in the Treatise of the Book of the Kings. And his son Amaziah reigned in his place.
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