1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem.map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba.

2 Joash did what the Lord approvedtn Heb “and Joash did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.” throughout the lifetimetn Heb “all the days of.” of Jehoiada the priest.

3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him who gave him sons and daughters.

4 Joash was determined to repair the Lord’s temple.tn Heb “and it was, later, there was with the heart of Joash to repair the house of the Lord.”

5 He assembled the priests and Levites and ordered them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the annual quota of silver from all Israel for repairs on the temple of your God. Be quick about it!” But the Levites delayed.

6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest,tn Heb “Jehoiada the head”; the word “priest” not in the Hebrew text but is implied. and said to him, “Why have you not madetn Heb “sought.” the Levites collecttn Heb “bring.” from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?”tn Heb “the tent of testimony.”

7 (Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.)

8 The king ordered a chest to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple.tn Heb “and the king said [it] and they made a chest and placed it in the gate of the house of the Lord outside.”

9 An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God’s servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness.tn Heb “and they gave voice in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the tax of Moses the servant of God upon Israel in the wilderness.”

10 All the officials and all the people gladly brought their silver and threw it into the chest until it was full.

11 Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver.

12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction forementn Heb “doers of the work.” assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord’s temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord’s temple.

13 They worked hard and made the repairs.tn Heb “and the doers of the work worked, and the repairs went up for the work by their hand.” They followed the measurements specified for God’s temple and restored it.tn Heb “and they caused the house of God to stand according to its measurements and they strengthened it.”

14 When they were finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the Lord’s temple, including items used in the temple service and for burnt sacrifices, pans, and various other gold and silver items. Throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime, burnt sacrifices were offered regularly in the Lord’s temple.

15 Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130.tn Heb “and Jehoiada grew old and was full of days and died; [he was] one hundred thirty years old when he died.”

16 He was buried in the City of Davidsn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. with the kings, because he had accomplished good in Israel and for God and his temple.

17 After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him.tn Heb “came and bowed down to the king.” The king listened to their advice.tn Heb “to them.”

18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors,tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24). and worshipedtn Heb “served.” the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem.

19 The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him.tn Heb “and he sent among them prophets to bring them back to the Lord.” They warnedtn Heb “testified among.” the people, but they would not pay attention.

20 God’s Spirit energizedtn Heb “clothed.” Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’”

21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.

22 King Joash disregardedtn Heb “did not remember.” the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’stn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity. son. As Zechariahtn Heb “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!”tn Heb “and seek [ – ].” The direct object of “seek” is omitted in the Hebrew text but implied; “vengeance” is supplied for clarification.

23 At the beginningtn Heb “turning.” of the year the Syrian army attackedtn Heb “went up against.” Joashtn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity. and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus.

24 Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army,tn Heb “though with a small amount of men the army of Aram came, the Lord gave into their hand an army [that was] very large.” for the people of Judahtn Heb “they”; the referent (the people of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrianstn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity. gave Joash what he deserved.tn Heb “executed judgments [on] Joash.”

25 When they withdrew, they left Joashtn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity. badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done totn Heb “because of the shed blood of.” the sontc The MT has the plural בְּנֵי (bÿney, “sons”), but the final yod is dittographic. Note the yod that immediately follows. of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thustn Heb “and he died.” he died and was buried in the City of David,sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. but not in the tombs of the kings.

26 The conspirators were Zabad son of Shimeath (an Ammonite woman) and Jehozabad son of Shimrith (a Moabite woman).

27 The list of Joash’stn Heb “his”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity. sons, the many prophetic oracles pertaining to him, and the account of his building project on God’s temple are included in the record of the Scroll of the Kings.tn Heb “And his sons and the abundance of the oracle[s] against him, and the founding of the house of God, look are they not written on the writing of the scroll of the kings?” His son Amaziah replaced him as king.