2 Chronicles 24:1–35:27

¹A son of seven years is Joash in his reigning, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Zibiah of Beer-Sheba. ²And Joash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³And Jehoiada taketh for him two wives, and he begetteth sons and daughters. ⁴And it cometh to pass after this, it hath been with the heart of Joash to renew the house of Jehovah, ⁵and he gathereth the priests and the Levites, and saith to them, ‘Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year, and ye, ye do haste to the matter;’ and the Levites have not hasted. ⁶And the king calleth for Jehoiada the head, and saith to him, ‘Wherefore hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tribute of Moses, servant of Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony? ⁷for sons of Athaliah, the wicked one, have broken up the house of God, and also, all the holy things of the house of Jehovah they have prepared for Baalim.’ ⁸And the king speaketh, and they make one chest, and put it at the gate of the house of Jehovah without, ⁹and give an intimation in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring in to Jehovah the tribute of Moses, servant of God, laid on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰And all the heads, and all the people rejoice, and they bring in, and cast into the chest, unto completion. ¹¹And it cometh to pass, at the time one bringeth in the chest for the inspection of the king by the hand of the Levites, and at their seeing that the money is abundant, that a scribe of the king hath come in, and an officer of the head-priest, and they empty the chest, and take it up and turn it back unto its place; thus they have done day by day, and gather money in abundance. ¹²And the king and Jehoiada give it unto the doers of the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and they are hiring hewers and artificers to renew the house of Jehovah, and also—to artificers in iron and brass to strengthen the house of Jehovah. ¹³And those doing the business work, and there goeth up lengthening to the work by their hand, and they establish the house of God, by its proper measure, and strengthen it. ¹⁴And at their completing it, they have brought in before the king and Jehoiada the rest of the money, and they make it vessels for the house of Jehovah, vessels of serving, and of offering up, and spoons, even vessels of gold and silver; and they are causing burnt-offerings to ascend in the house of Jehovah continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵And Jehoiada is aged and satisfied with days, and dieth—a son of a hundred and thirty years in his death, ¹⁶and they bury him in the city of David, with the kings, for he hath done good in Israel, and with God, and his house. ¹⁷And after the death of Jehoiada come in have heads of Judah, and bow themselves to the king; then hath the king hearkened unto them, ¹⁸and they forsake the house of Jehovah, God of their fathers, and serve the shrines and the idols, and there is wrath upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. ¹⁹And He sendeth among them prophets, to bring them back unto Jehovah, and they testify against them, and they have not given ear; ²⁰and the Spirit of God hath clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and he standeth over-against the people, and saith to them, ‘Thus said God, Why are ye transgressing the commands of Jehovah, and prosper not? because ye have forsaken Jehovah—He doth forsake you.’ ²¹And they conspire against him, and stone him with stones by the command of the king, in the court of the house of Jehovah, ²²and Joash the king hath not remembered the kindness that Jehoiada his father did with him, and slayeth his son, and in his death he said, ‘Jehovah doth see, and require.’ ²³And it cometh to pass, at the turn of the year, come up hath the force of Aram against him, and they come in unto Judah and Jerusalem, and destroy all the heads of the people from the people, and all their spoil they have sent to the king of Damascus, ²⁴for with few men have the force of Aram come in, and Jehovah hath given into their hand a mighty force for multitude, because they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers; and with Joash they have executed judgments. ²⁵And in their going from him—for they left him with many diseases—his servants themselves have conspired against him, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slay him on his bed, and he dieth; and they bury him in the city of David, and have not buried him in the graves of the kings. ²⁶And these are those conspiring against him, Zabad son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷As to his sons, and the greatness of the burden upon him, and the foundation of the house of God, lo, they are written on the ‘Inquiry’ of the book of the Kings; and reign doth Amaziah his son in his stead.

Chapter 25

¹A son of twenty and five years hath Amaziah reigned, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Jehoaddan of Jerusalem, ²and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah—only, not with a perfect heart. ³And it cometh to pass, when the kingdom hath been strong upon him, that he slayeth his servants, those smiting the king his father, ⁴and their sons he hath not put to death, but did as is written in the law, in the book of Moses, whom Jehovah commanded, saying, ‘Fathers do not die for sons, and sons die not for fathers, but each for his own sin they die.’ ⁵And Amaziah gathereth Judah, and appointeth them, according to the house of the fathers, for heads of the thousands, and for heads of the hundreds, for all Judah and Benjamin; and he inspecteth them from a son of twenty years and upward, and findeth them three hundred thousand chosen ones, going forth to the host, holding spear and target. ⁶And he hireth out of Israel a hundred thousand mighty ones of valour, with a hundred talents of silver; ⁷and a man of God hath come in unto him, saying, ‘O king, the host of Israel doth not go with thee; for Jehovah is not with Israel—all the sons of Ephraim; ⁸but if thou art going—do it, be strong for battle, God doth cause thee to stumble before an enemy, for there is power in God to help, and to cause to stumble.’ ⁹And Amaziah saith to the man of God, ‘And what—to do for the hundred talents that I have given to the troop of Israel?’ And the man of God saith, ‘Jehovah hath more to give to thee than this.’ ¹⁰And Amaziah separateth them—for the troop that hath come in unto him from Ephraim to go to their own place, and their anger doth burn mightily against Judah, and they turn back to their place in the heat of anger. ¹¹And Amaziah hath strengthened himself, and leadeth his people, and goeth to the Valley of Salt, and smiteth the sons of Seir—ten thousand. ¹²And ten thousand alive have the sons of Judah taken captive, and they bring them to the top of the rock, and cast them from the top of the rock, and all of them have been broken. ¹³And the sons of the troop that Amaziah hath sent back from going with him to battle—they rush against cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-Horon, and smite of them three thousand, and seize much prey.

¹⁴And it cometh to pass, after the coming in of Amaziah from smiting the Edomites, that he bringeth in the gods of the sons of Seir, and establisheth them to him for gods, and before them doth bow himself, and to them he maketh perfume. ¹⁵And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Amaziah, and He sendeth unto him a prophet, and he saith unto him, ‘Why hast thou sought the gods of the people that have not delivered their people out of thy hand?’ ¹⁶And it cometh to pass, in his speaking unto him, that he saith to him, ‘For a counsellor to the king have we appointed thee? cease for thee; why do they smite thee?’ And the prophet ceaseth, and saith, ‘I have known that God hath counselled to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel.’

¹⁷And Amaziah king of Judah taketh counsel, and sendeth unto Joash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, ¹⁸‘Come, we look one another in the face.’ And Joash king of Israel sendeth unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, ‘The thorn that is in Lebanon hath sent unto the cedar that is in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife; and pass by doth a beast of the field that is in Lebanon, and treadeth down the thorn. ¹⁹Thou hast said, Lo, I have smitten Edom; and thy heart hath lifted thee up to boast; now, abide in thy house, why dost thou stir thyself up in evil, that thou hast fallen, thou, and Judah with thee?’ ²⁰And Amaziah hath not hearkened, for from God it is in order to give them into hand, because they have sought the gods of Edom; ²¹and go up doth Joash king of Israel, and they look one another in the face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, in Beth-Shemesh, that is Judah’s, ²²and Judah is smitten before Israel, and they flee—each to his tents. ²³And Amaziah king of Judah, son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, hath Joash king of Israel caught in Beth-Shemesh, and bringeth him in to Jerusalem, and breaketh down in the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits, ²⁴and taketh all the gold, and the silver, and all the vessels that are found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the house of the king, and the sons of the pledges, and turneth back to Samaria. ²⁵And Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, liveth after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years; ²⁶and the rest of the matters of Amaziah, the first and the last, lo, are they not written on the books of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷And from the time that Amaziah hath turned aside from after Jehovah—they make a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fleeth to Lachish, and they send after him to Lachish, and put him to death…