2 Chronicles 24

1 Joash [a son of seven years, given by the Lord] was seven years old [at the beginning of his reign, as a young boy] when he became king [began to reign, started his rule], and he reigned [ruled, advised, or counseled as a king] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Judah] forty years [a significant period of time, marking a generation]. His mother’s [female parent, maternal figure] name was Zibiah [a woman from Beersheba, the well of the sevenfold oath]; she was from Beersheba [a city in southern Palestine, a place of covenant and promise]. word study 2 And Joash did [upright] what was right in the eyes [sight, gaze] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] all [every, the entire] the days [time, period] of Jehoiada [Jehovah knows] the priest [spiritual leader, minister]. word study 3 Jehoiada [the high priest, Jehovah knows] took for himself [arranged for him to marry] two [a pair, double] wives, and he had [begat, became the father of] sons [male descendants, children] and daughters [female children, women]. word study 4 Some time later [after this, afterward], Joash [given by the Lord, a king of Judah] set his heart [feelings, will, and intellect] on repairing [to renew, restore] the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 5 So he gathered [assembled, convened] the priests [spiritual leaders, mediators] and Levites [descendants of Levi, temple servants] and said, “Go out [come forth, depart] to the cities [towns, urban areas] of Judah [the tribe of Judah, the southern kingdom] and collect [gather, receive] the money [silver, payment] due annually [year by year, from year to year] from all Israel [the entire nation, God’s people], to repair [restore, renovate] the house [temple, dwelling place] of your God [Elohim, the supreme Creator]. Do it quickly [with haste, promptly].” The Levites [temple servants, descendants of Levi], however, did not make haste [did not hurry, were slow]. word study 6 So the king [ruler, monarch] called Jehoiada the high priest [chief spiritual leader] and said, “Why have you not required [demanded, insisted] the Levites [descendants of Levi, temple servants] to bring from Judah [the southern kingdom] and Jerusalem [the city of peace] the tax [tribute, offering] imposed by Moses [the servant of God] the servant of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] and by the assembly [congregation, gathering] of Israel [God’s chosen people] for the Tent [tabernacle, dwelling place] of the Testimony [witness, covenant agreement]?” word study 7 For the sons [descendants, offspring] of that wicked [morally corrupt, evil] woman Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord] had broken [forced their way, burst into] into the house [temple, dwelling place] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] and had even used [bestowed, dedicated] the sacred [holy, set-apart] objects [things, vessels] of the house [temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord of covenant] for the Baals [false gods, idols]. word study 8 At the [royal, sovereign] king’s command [decree] a chest [money box, collection vessel] was made and placed [set, positioned] outside [in the outer area, beyond the entrance], at the gate [entrance, doorway] of the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Almighty God]. word study 9 And a proclamation [public announcement, official decree] was issued in Judah [the southern kingdom of Israel] and Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Israel] that they were to bring [offer, present] to the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] the tax [tribute, contribution] imposed by Moses [leader of Israel] the servant [faithful attendant] of God [Elohim, the supreme deity] on Israel [the chosen people, descendants of Jacob] in the wilderness [the desert, a place of testing and refinement]. word study 10 All [every single one, the entirety] the officers [rulers, leaders] and all [every single one, the entirety] the people [nation, community] rejoiced [were glad, celebrated] and brought [came with, offered] their contributions [gifts, offerings], and they dropped [threw, cast] them in the chest [ark, money box] until [as far as, to the point of] it was full [complete, finished]. word study 11 Whenever the chest [money box, treasury] was brought by the Levites [descendants of Levi, temple servants] to the king’s overseers [royal officials, administrators] and they saw that there was a large amount [abundance, plenty] of money [silver, wealth], the royal scribe [king’s secretary, recorder] and the officer [chief, leader] of the high priest [chief spiritual leader] would come and empty [uncover, pour out] the chest and carry it back to its place [original location, designated spot]. They did this daily [every day, regularly] and gathered [collected, amassed] the money in abundance [great quantity, riches]. word study 12 Then the king [ruler, monarch] and Jehoiada [Jehovah knows, a high priest] would give [to put, set, or bestow] the money to those who supervised [were over, in charge of] the labor [work, service] on the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] to hire [to pay for work, employ] stonecutters [hewers, craftsmen] and carpenters [skilled workers, artisans] to restore [to renew, repair] the house of the LORD, as well as workers [artificers, craftsmen] in iron [a strong metal] and bronze [copper, a base metal] to repair [to mend, fix] the house of the LORD. word study 13 So the workmen [doing the repairs, laboring] labored, and in their hands [under their direction, by their strength] the repair work [restoration, renovation] progressed. They restored [repaired, rebuilt] the house [temple, dwelling place] of God [Elohim, the supreme Lord] according to its specifications [original design, proper measure], and they reinforced [strengthened, made firm] it. word study 14 When they were finished [completed, ended their task], they brought the rest [remainder, leftover amount] of the money to the king and Jehoiada [Jehovah knows, the high priest] to make with it the articles [utensils, vessels] for the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]—utensils [vessels, tools] for the service [ministry, worship] and for the burnt offerings [sacrifices, ascensions], dishes [bowls, spoons], and other objects [vessels, instruments] of gold [precious metal, wealth] and silver [valuable resource, treasure]. Throughout [during, all the days of] the days of Jehoiada, burnt offerings [ascensions, sacrifices] were presented regularly [continually, constantly] in the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD. word study 15 When Jehoiada [was advanced in years, grew old] was old [aged, full of days] and full of years [satisfied with life, complete], he died [passed away, came to his end] at the age of [exactly, precisely] 130 [a hundred and thirty, one hundred thirty]. word study 16 And Jehoiada was buried [with honors, in a place of respect] with the kings [royal persons, rulers] in the City of David [the town of Jerusalem, the city of the king], because he had done [accomplished, made] what was good [pleasant, beneficial, righteous] in Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] for God [the supreme Creator, Elohim] and His temple [the house of worship, the dwelling place of God]. word study 17 After [following, subsequent to] the death [passing away, end of life] of Jehoiada, however, the officials [rulers, leaders] of Judah came and paid homage [bowed down, showed respect] to the king, and he listened [hearkened, gave attention] to them [toward their counsel, in obedience]. word study 18 They abandoned [forsook, left behind] the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the God [Elohim, the supreme God] of their fathers [ancestors, forefathers], and served [worshiped, gave allegiance to] the Asherah poles [idolatrous images, sacred trees] and idols [idolatrous images, false gods]. So wrath [rage, divine anger] came upon [fell on, was directed towards] Judah [the tribe and region] and Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital] for this [their specific] guilt [sin, wrongdoing] of theirs. word study 19 Nevertheless, the LORD [Yehovah, the national name for God] sent [dispatched, to depart] prophets [those who speak for God] to bring the people back [to return, turn back] to Him [toward the Lord] and to testify [to repeat, affirm, uphold] against them; but they would [refused to, not willing to] not listen [to hear, obey, give ear]. word study 20 Then the Spirit [breath of life, divine influence] of God [Elohim, the one supreme God] came upon Zechariah [Jehovah remembers, a prophet and priest] son of Jehoiada [Jehovah knows, a high priest] the priest, who stood up [to stand in a strong sense, like a sentinel] before the people and said to them, “This is what God [Elohim, the supreme God] says: ‘Why do you transgress [disobey, cross over] the commandments [laws, rules] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] so that you cannot prosper [succeed, rush forward]? Because you have forsaken [abandoned, loosened] the LORD, He has forsaken [abandoned, relinquished] you.’” word study 21 But they conspired [plotted, made a secret design] against Zechariah, and by order [commandment, decree] of the king [ruler, monarch], they stoned [killed with stones, executed] him in the courtyard [outer square, court] of the house [temple, place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]. word study 22 Thus King Joash [the ruler given by the Lord] failed to remember [did not recall, was ungrateful for] the kindness [loving actions, mercy] that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada [Jehovah knows, a faithful priest] had extended [shown, demonstrated] to him. Instead, Joash killed [slew, murdered] Jehoiada’s son [his own spiritual brother, a prophet]. As he lay dying [in his final moments, breathing his last], Zechariah said, “May the LORD [Yehovah, the Provider] see [look upon, observe] this and call you to account [require, avenge].” word study 23 In the spring [at the end of the year, near the turn of the year], the army [host, force] of Aram [Syria, the Arameans] went to war [came up] against Joash [the king of Judah]. They entered [came against] Judah [the tribe, the region] and Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital] and destroyed [ruined, killed] all [every] the leaders [princes, rulers] of the people [nation, the Israelites], and they sent [deported, dispatched] all [every] the plunder [spoil, booty] to their king [ruler, monarch] in Damascus [the capital city of Syria]. word study 24 Although the Aramean [Syrian] army had come with only a few men [a small company], the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] delivered into their hand a very great army [a mighty force, a host]. Because Judah had forsaken [abandoned, loosened] the LORD, the God [Elohim, the supreme God] of their fathers [ancestors], judgment [a sentence, an act of judgment] was executed on Joash [given by the Lord]. word study 25 And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely [badly] wounded. His own servants conspired [plotted] against him for shedding the blood [murdering the son] of the son of Jehoiada the priest [Jehoiada, a high priest], and they killed him on his bed [couch, place of rest]. So he died [passed away, met his end] and was buried [laid to rest, interred] in the City of David [the city, Jerusalem], but not in the tombs [sepulchres, graves] of the kings. word study 26 Those who conspired [plotted against] against Joash were Zabad [a descendant of Judah] son of Shimeath [an Ammonite woman, from the land of Ammon] the Ammonitess [a woman from the land of Ammon, a descendant of Lot] and Jehozabad [Jehovah has endowed, a name meaning God has given] son of Shimrith [a Moabite woman, vigilant, watchful] the Moabitess [a woman from the land of Moab, a descendant of Lot]. word study 27 The accounts [story, commentary] of the sons [descendants, offspring] of Joash, as well as the many pronouncements [prophecies, burdens] about him and about the restoration [rebuilding, renovation] of the house [temple, dwelling place] of God [Elohim, the supreme God], are indeed written [recorded, inscribed] in the Treatise [story, midrash] of the Book [scroll, document] of the Kings. And his son [offspring, descendant] Amaziah [Jehovah is mighty] reigned [ruled, governed] in his place [stead, position]. word study