2 Chronicles 24

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.	1 Joash was seven years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Zibiah, from Beersheba.
2 And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.	2 And he did what is good before the Lord during all the days of Jehoiada, the priest.
3 Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.	3 Now Jehoiada gave to him two wives, from whom he conceived sons and daughters.
4 After this Joash decided to restore the house of the LORD.	4 After these things, it pleased Joash to repair the house of the Lord.
5 And he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that you hasten the matter." But the Levites did not hasten it.	5 And he gathered together the priests and Levites, and he said to them: “Go out to the cities of Judah, and collect from all of Israel money to repair the surfaces of the temple of your God, throughout each year. And do this promptly.” But the Levites acted negligently.
6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the LORD, on the congregation of Israel for the tent of testimony?"	6 And the king summoned Jehoiada, the leader, and he said to him: “Why was there no concern with you, so that you would compel the Levites to bring, from Judah and from Jerusalem, the money that was appointed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, so as to bring it, from the entire multitude of Israel, to the tabernacle of the testimony?
7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God; and had also used all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.	7 For that very impious woman Athaliah and her sons have destroyed the house of God, and they have adorned the shrine of Baal from all the things that had been sanctified in the temple of the Lord.”
8 So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it outside the gate of the house of the LORD.	8 Therefore, the king instructed, and they made an ark. And they placed it beside the gate of the house of the Lord, on the outside.
9 And proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.	9 And they proclaimed, in Judah and Jerusalem, that each one should bring to the Lord the money that Moses, the servant of God, appointed in the desert, concerning all of Israel.
10 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.	10 And all the leaders and all the people rejoiced. And upon entering, they together took and placed so much into the ark of the Lord that it was filled.
11 And whenever the chest was brought to the king's officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was much money in it, the king's secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. Thus they did day after day, and collected money in abundance.	11 And when it was time for them to bring the ark before the king by the hands of the Levites, for they saw that there was much money, the scribe of the king, and the one whom the high priest had appointed, entered. And they poured out the money that was in the ark. Then they carried the ark back to its place. And they did this on each day. And an immense sum of money was gathered.
12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had charge of the work of the house of the LORD, and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.	12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who were in charge of the works of the house of the Lord. Then with it they hired hewers of stone, and artisans of every kind, so that they might repair the house of the Lord, and also so that the works of iron and of brass, which had begun to fall, would be reinforced.
13 So those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward in their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it.	13 And those who were hired were working industriously. And the breach in the walls was healed by their hands. And they returned the house of the Lord to a pristine state. And they caused it stand firm.
14 And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made utensils for the house of the LORD, both for the service and for the burnt offerings, and dishes for incense, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.	14 And when they had completed all the works, they brought the remaining part of the money before the king and Jehoiada. And from it, the vessels of the temple were made, for the ministry and for the holocausts, including bowls and other vessels of gold and silver. And holocausts were being offered in the house of the Lord continually, during all the days of Jehoiada.
15 But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died; he was a hundred and thirty years old at his death.	15 But Jehoiada was old and full of days. And he died when he was one hundred thirty years old.
16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.	16 And they buried him in the City of David, with the kings, because he had done good to Israel and to his house.
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king hearkened to them.	17 Then, after Jehoiada passed away, the leaders of Judah entered and reverenced the king. And he was enticed by their obsequiousness, and so he acquiesced to them.
18 And they forsook the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.	18 And they abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and they served sacred groves and graven images. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this sin.
19 Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD; these testified against them, but they would not give heed.	19 And he sent prophets to them, so that they might return to the Lord. And though they were offering testimony, they were not willing to listen to them.
20 Then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.'"	20 And so the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. And he stood in the sight of the people, and he said to them: “Thus says the Lord God: Why have you transgressed the precept of the Lord, though it was not to your benefit, and why have you abandoned the Lord, so that he would then abandon you?”
21 But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.	21 And gathering together against him, they stoned him, beside the place of the king, in the atrium of the house of the Lord.
22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, "May the LORD see and avenge!"	22 And king Joash did not remember the mercy with which Jehoiada, his father, had treated him; instead he put to death his son. And as he was dying, he said: “May the Lord see and take account.”
23 At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.	23 And when a year had turned, the army of Syria ascended against him. And they went to Judah and Jerusalem. And they put to death all the leaders of the people. And they sent all the spoils to the king of Damascus.
24 Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.	24 And although certainly there had arrived a very small number of Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an immense multitude. For they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Also, against Joash they executed disgraceful judgments.
25 When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed. So he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.	25 And upon departing, they left him greatly debilitated. Then his servants rose up against him, in vengeance for the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest. And they killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings.
26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shime-ath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.	26 Truly, those who ambushed him were Zabad, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shimrith.
27 Accounts of his sons, and of the many oracles against him, and of the rebuilding of the house of God are written in the Commentary on the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.	27 But concerning his sons, and the sum of money that had been amassed under him, and the repairing of the house of God, these things have been written more diligently in the book of kings. Then his son, Amaziah, reigned in his place.