Joash Repairs the Temple^(A)

24 Joash ^(B)was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² Joash ^(C)did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the Lord. ⁵ Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and ^(D)gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.”

However the Levites did not do it quickly. ^6 (E)So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of ^(F)Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel, for the ^(G)tabernacle of witness?” ⁷ For ^(H)the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the ^(I)dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.

⁸ Then at the king’s command ^(J)they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹ And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord ^(K)the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. ¹¹ So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s official by the hand of the Levites, and ^(L)when they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to ^(M)repair the house of the Lord, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the Lord. ¹³ So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; ^(N)they made from it articles for the house of the Lord, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Apostasy of Joash

¹⁵ But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. ¹⁶ And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. ¹⁸ Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served ^(O)wooden images and idols; and ^(P)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. ¹⁹ Yet He ^(Q)sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God ^[a]came upon ^(R)Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ^(S)‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? ^(T)Because you have forsaken the Lord, He also has forsaken you.’ ” ²¹ So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they ^(U)stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his ^[b]father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The Lord look on it, and ^(V)repay!”

Death of Joash^(W)

²³ So it happened in the spring of the year that ^(X)the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their ^[c]spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ For the army of the Syrians ^(Y)came with a small company of men; but the Lord ^(Z)delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they ^(AA)executed judgment against Joash. ²⁵ And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), ^(AB)his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[d]sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed 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.

²⁶ These are the ones who conspired against him: ^[e]Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of ^[f]Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ Now concerning his sons, and ^(AC)the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the ^[g]annals of the book of the kings. ^(AD)Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah^(AE)

25 Amaziah ^(AF)was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, ^(AG)but not with a loyal heart.

^3 (AH)Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. ⁴ However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, ^(AI)“The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.”

The War Against Edom^(AJ)

⁵ Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them ^(AK)from twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired one hundred thousand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. ⁷ But a ^(AL)man of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has ^(AM)power to help and to overthrow.”

⁹ Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?”

And the man of God answered, ^(AN)“The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” ¹⁰ So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. Therefore their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

¹¹ Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to ^(AO)the Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir. ¹² Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces.

¹³ But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had discharged, so that they would not go with him to battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killed three thousand in them, and took much ^[h]spoil.

¹⁴ Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that ^(AP)he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be ^(AQ)his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ Therefore the anger of the Lord was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought ^(AR)the gods of the people, which ^(AS)could not rescue their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?”

Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has ^(AT)determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

Israel Defeats Judah^(AU)

¹⁷ Now ^(AV)Amaziah king of Judah asked advice and sent to ^[i]Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”

¹⁸ And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. ¹⁹ Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to ^(AW)boast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall—you and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not heed, for ^(AX)it came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they ^(AY)sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Joash king of Israel went out; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at ^(AZ)Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ²² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. ²³ Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of ^(BA)Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits. ²⁴ And he took all the gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with ^(BB)Obed-Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

Death of Amaziah^(BC)

^25 (BD)Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in ^[j]the City of Judah.

Uzziah Reigns in Judah^(BE)

26 Now all the people of Judah took ^[k]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ² He built ^[l]Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ⁴ And he did what was ^(BF)right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ^5 (BG)He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who ^(BH)had understanding in the ^[m]visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him ^(BI)prosper.

⁶ Now he went out and ^(BJ)made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against ^(BK)the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ Also the Ammonites ^(BL)brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

⁹ And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the ^(BM)Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. ¹⁰ Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in ^[n]Carmel, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹² The total number of ^[o]chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. ¹³ And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. ¹⁵ And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by ^(BN)skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride^(BO)

¹⁶ But ^(BP)when he was strong his heart was ^(BQ)lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God ^(BR)by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ So ^(BS)Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. ¹⁸ And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It ^(BT)is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the ^(BU)priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, ^(BV)leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. ²⁰ And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also ^(BW)hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.

^21 (BX)King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an ^(BY)isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet ^(BZ)Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. ^23 (CA)So Uzziah ^[p]rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.