Joash
1Joash was seven years old when he became king and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2Joash did what is pleasing to Yahweh throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. 3Jehoiada found him two wives and he had sons and daughters. 4After that Joash decided to repair Yahweh’s House.
5Calling the priests and the Levites together, he said, “Go out to the towns of Judah, and collect enough money from all the Israelites to make possible annual repairs on the house of God. Do this quickly.” But the Levites were in no hurry, 6so the king called Jehoiada for he was their head, and said, “Why have you not insisted on the Levites collecting from Judah and Jerusalem the tax which Moses, the servant of Yahweh, required the people to pay for the maintenance of the Tent of the Meeting? 7Athaliah and her sons, whom she perverted, damaged the house of God and even used many of the sacred objects in the worship of Baal.” 8So the king ordered them to make a chest and to place it outside the gate of Yahweh’s House. 9And they announced throughout Judah and Jerusalem that they had to bring to Yahweh the tax Moses, that servant of God, had required in the wilderness. 10All the officials and all the people came joyfully with their contribution, dropping it into the chest until all was paid.
11The chest was taken to the royal office of control by the Levites whenever they saw that there was a great amount of money in it. The king’s secretary then came with representatives of the chief priest to take the chest, empty it of money and later return it to its place. They did this every day, and collected a large sum of money. 12The king and Jehoiada gave the money to those who were in charge of repairing the House, and they hired men, masons and carpenters, who set about restoring Yahweh’s House; craftsmen in iron and bronze also worked on the repairing of it. 13The supervisors having once made a start, the repairs went ahead; they rebuilt the house of God as it was before, as solid as ever. 14When they had finished, they brought the balance of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and from this, furnishings were made for Yahweh’s House, vessels for the liturgy and for the burnt offerings, incense boats and objects of gold and silver.
So, for as long as Jehoiada lived they offered sacrifices regularly in Yahweh’s House. 15Then Jehoiada, growing old, had his fill of days and died. He died at the age of a hundred and thirty years, 16and they buried him with the kings in the City of David because he had served Israel well and also God and his house.
17After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. 18The Judaeans abandoned the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred trunks and idols and God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem because of their guilt. 19He sent them prophets to bring them back to Yahweh, but when the prophets spoke, they would not listen. 20The spirit of God took control of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, “God says this: Why are you disobeying the commandments of Yahweh? You cannot prosper. You have abandoned Yahweh and he will abandon you.” 21They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of Yahweh’s House. 22King Joash forgot the kindness of Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, and killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, “Let Yahweh see and do justice!”
23When a year had gone by, the Aramaean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem, and killed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king of Damascus all that they had plundered from them. 24Though the Aramaean army was small, Yahweh delivered into its power an army of great size for they had abandoned him, the God of their ancestors.
25The Aramaeans wounded Joash and when they withdrew they left him a very sick man; and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the City of David, though not in the tombs of the king. 26These were the conspirators: Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess. 27As regard his sons, the heavy tribute he demanded, and the restoration of the house of God, this is all recorded in the commentary on the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah succeeded him.
