Holman Christian Standard Bible (136 page)

2 Chronicles

Athaliah Overthrown

23
Then, in the seventh year, Jehoiada summoned his courage and took the commanders of hundreds into a covenant with him: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.
2
 They made a circuit throughout Judah. They gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

3
 Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in God's temple. Jehoiada said to them, “Here is the king's son! He must reign, just as the
Lord
promised concerning David's sons.
4
 This is what you are to do: a third of you, priests and Levites who are coming on duty on the Sabbath, are to be gatekeepers.
5
 A third are to be at the king's palace, and a third are to be at the Foundation Gate, and all the troops will be in the courtyards of the
Lord
's temple.
6
 No one is to enter the
Lord
's temple but the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are holy, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the
Lord
.
7
 You must completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. You must be with the king in all his daily tasks.” 

8
 So the commanders of hundreds did everything Jehoiada the priest commanded. They each brought their men — those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty on the Sabbath — for Jehoiada the priest did not release the divisions. 
9
 Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears, shields, and quivers that were in God's temple.
10
 Then he stationed all the troops with their weapons in hand surrounding the king — from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.

11
 They brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the
•testimony
, and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and cried, “Long live the king! ” 

12
 When Athaliah heard the noise from the troops, the guards, and those praising the king, she went to the troops in the
Lord
's temple.
13
 As she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason! ”

14
 Then Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of hundreds, those in charge of the army, saying, “Take her out between the ranks, and put anyone who follows her to death by the sword,” for the priest had said, “Don't put her to death in the
Lord
's temple.”
15
 So they arrested her, and she went by the entrance of the Horses' Gate to the king's palace, where they put her to death.

Jehoiada's Reforms

16
 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the king, and the people that they would be the
Lord
's people.
17
 So all the people went to the temple of
•Baal
and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars. 

18
 Then Jehoiada put the oversight of the
Lord
's temple into the hands of the Levitical priests, whom David had appointed over the
Lord
's temple, to offer
•burnt
offerings to the
Lord
as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and song ordained by David.
19
 He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the
Lord
's temple so that nothing
•unclean
could enter for any reason.
20
 Then he took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the
Lord
's temple. They entered the king's palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the throne of the kingdom.
21
 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword.

2 Chronicles

Judah's King Joash

24
Joash was seven years old when he became king and reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.
2
 Throughout the time of Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what was right in the
Lord
's sight. 
3
 Jehoiada acquired two wives for him, and he was the father of sons and daughters.

Repairing the Temple

4
 Afterward, Joash took it to heart to renovate the
Lord
's temple.
5
 So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel to repair the temple of your God as needed year by year, and do it quickly.”

However, the Levites did not hurry.
6
 So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why haven't you required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the
Lord
's servant Moses and the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?
7
 For the sons of that wicked Athaliah broke into the
Lord
's temple and even used the sacred things of the
Lord
's temple for the
•Baals
.”

8
 At the king's command a chest was made and placed outside the gate of the
Lord
's temple.
9
 Then a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that the tax God's servant Moses imposed on Israel in the wilderness be brought to the
Lord
.
10
 All the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought the tax, and put it in the chest until it was full.
11
 Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king's overseers, and when they saw that there was a large amount of money, the king's secretary and the high priest's deputy came and emptied the chest, picked it up, and returned it to its place. They did this daily and gathered the money in abundance.
12
 Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to those in charge of the labor on the
Lord
's temple, who were hiring stonecutters and carpenters to renovate the
Lord
's temple, also blacksmiths and coppersmiths to repair the
Lord
's temple. 

13
 The workmen did their work, and through them the repairs progressed. They restored God's temple to its specifications and reinforced it.
14
 When they finished, they presented the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the
Lord
's temple with it — articles for ministry and for making
•burnt
offerings, and ladles and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the
Lord
's temple throughout Jehoiada's life.

Joash's Apostasy

15
 Jehoiada died when he was old and full of days; he was 130 years old at his death.
16
 He was buried in the city of David with the kings because he had done what was good in Israel with respect to God and His temple.

17
 However, after Jehoiada died, the rulers of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them,
18
 and they abandoned the temple of
•Yahweh
, the God of their ancestors and served the
•Asherah
poles and the idols. So there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this
•guilt
of theirs.
19
 Nevertheless, He sent them prophets to bring them back to the
Lord
; they admonished them, but the people would not listen. 

20
 The Spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the
Lord
's commands and you do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the
Lord
, He has abandoned you.' ” 
21
 But they conspired against him and stoned him at the king's command in the courtyard of the
Lord
's temple. 
22
 King Joash didn't remember the kindness that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had extended to him, but killed his son. While he was dying, he said, “May the
Lord
see and demand an account.”

Aramean Invasion of Judah

23
 At the turn of the year, an Aramean army went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people among them and sent all the plunder to the king of Damascus.
24
 Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the
Lord
handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.

Joash Assassinated

25
 When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest. 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
 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of the Ammonite woman Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of the Moabite woman Shimrith.
27
 Concerning his sons, the many
•oracles
about him, and the restoration of the
Lord
's temple, they are recorded in the Writing of the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became king in his place.

2 Chronicles

Judah's King Amaziah

25
Amaziah became king when he was 25 years old and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.
2
 He did what was right in the
Lord
's sight but not wholeheartedly. 

3
 As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king.
4
 However, he did not put their children to death, because — as it is written in the Law, in the book of Moses, where the
Lord
commanded — “Fathers must not die because of children, and children must not die because of fathers, but each one will die for his own sin.” 

Amaziah's Campaign against Edom

5
 Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral house, according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those 20 years old or more for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be 300,000 choice men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield. 
6
 Then for 7,500 pounds of silver he hired 100,000 brave warriors from Israel.

7
 However, a man of God came to him and said, “King, do not let Israel's army go with you, for the
Lord
is not with Israel — all the Ephraimites.
8
 But if you go with them, do it! Be strong for battle! But God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to make one stumble.”

9
 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “What should I do about the 7,500 pounds of silver I gave to Israel's division? ”

The man of God replied, “The
Lord
is able to give you much more than this.”

10
 So Amaziah released the division that came to him from Ephraim to go home. But they got very angry with Judah and returned home in a fierce rage.

11
 Amaziah strengthened his position and led his people to the Valley of Salt. He struck down 10,000 Seirites, 
12
 and the Judahites captured 10,000 alive. They took them to the top of a cliff where they threw them off, and all of them were dashed to pieces.

13
 As for the men of the division that Amaziah sent back so they would not go with him into battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, struck down 3,000 of their people, and took a great deal of plunder.

14
 After Amaziah came from the attack on the Edomites, he brought the gods of the Seirites and set them up as his gods. He worshiped before them and burned incense to them. 
15
 So the
Lord
's anger was against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why have you sought a people's gods that could not deliver their own people from your hand? ” 

16
 While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, “Have we made you the king's counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life? ”

So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God intends to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice.”

Amaziah's War With Israel's King Joash

17
 King Amaziah of Judah took counsel and sent word to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

18
 King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. 
19
 You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,' and you have become overconfident that you will get glory. Now stay at home. Why stir up such trouble so that you fall and Judah with you? ”