24:23 At the beginning 1 of the year the Syrian army attacked 2 Joash 3 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, 4 for the people of Judah 5 had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians 6 gave Joash what he deserved. 7 24:25 When they withdrew, they left Joash 8 badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done to 9 the son 10 of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thus 11 he died and was buried in the City of David, 12 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).
1 tn Heb “turning.”
2 tn Heb “went up against.”
3 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “though with a small amount of men the army of Aram came, the
5 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “executed judgments [on] Joash.”
8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “because of the shed blood of.”
10 tc The MT has the plural בְּנֵי (bÿney, “sons”), but the final yod is dittographic. Note the yod that immediately follows.
11 tn Heb “and he died.”
12 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.