24:15 Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130. 1 24:16 He was buried in the City of David 2 with the kings, because he had accomplished good in Israel and for God and his temple.
24:17 After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him. 3 The king listened to their advice. 4 24:18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors, 5 and worshiped 6 the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. 24:19 The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him. 7 They warned 8 the people, but they would not pay attention. 24:20 God’s Spirit energized 9 Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’” 24:21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 24:22 King Joash disregarded 10 the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s 11 son. As Zechariah 12 was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!” 13
24:23 At the beginning 14 of the year the Syrian army attacked 15 Joash 16 and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus. 24:24 Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army, 17 for the people of Judah 18 had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians 19 gave Joash what he deserved. 20 24:25 When they withdrew, they left Joash 21 badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done to 22 the son 23 of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thus 24 he died and was buried in the City of David, 25 but not in the tombs of the kings. 24:26 The conspirators were Zabad son of Shimeath (an Ammonite woman) and Jehozabad son of Shimrith (a Moabite woman).
24:27 The list of Joash’s 26 sons, the many prophetic oracles pertaining to him, and the account of his building project on God’s temple are included in the record of the Scroll of the Kings. 27 His son Amaziah replaced him as king.
1 tn Heb “and Jehoiada grew old and was full of days and died; [he was] one hundred thirty years old when he died.”
2 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
3 tn Heb “came and bowed down to the king.”
4 tn Heb “to them.”
5 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24).
6 tn Heb “served.”
7 tn Heb “and he sent among them prophets to bring them back to the
8 tn Heb “testified among.”
9 tn Heb “clothed.”
10 tn Heb “did not remember.”
11 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “and seek [ – ].” The direct object of “seek” is omitted in the Hebrew text but implied; “vengeance” is supplied for clarification.
14 tn Heb “turning.”
15 tn Heb “went up against.”
16 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “though with a small amount of men the army of Aram came, the
18 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “executed judgments [on] Joash.”
21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Heb “because of the shed blood of.”
23 tc The MT has the plural בְּנֵי (bÿney, “sons”), but the final yod is dittographic. Note the yod that immediately follows.
24 tn Heb “and he died.”
25 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
26 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Heb “And his sons and the abundance of the oracle[s] against him, and the founding of the house of God, look are they not written on the writing of the scroll of the kings?”