2 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 24, Matthew 23-24:31, Psalm 20

Jehoash Reigns over Judah

12In the seventh year of Jehu, ^aJehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ²And Jehoash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³Only ^athe high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

Jehoash Repairs the House of Yahweh

⁴Then Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred things ^awhich is brought into the house of Yahweh, both ^bthe money for each ¹numbered man—the money from each person’s assessment in the census—and all the money which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of Yahweh, ⁵let the priests take it for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the ¹damages of the house wherever any damage may be found.”

⁶Now it happened that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash ^athe priests had not repaired the damages of the house. ⁷Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests and said to them, “Why do you not repair the damages of the house? So now, take no more money from your acquaintances, but give it over to pay for the damages of the house.” ⁸So the priests agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the house.

⁹But ^aJehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh; and the priests who kept watch over the threshold put in it all the money which was brought into the house of Yahweh. ¹⁰Now it happened that when they saw that there was much money in the chest, ^athe king’s scribe and the high priest came up and tied it in bags and counted the money which was found in the house of Yahweh. ¹¹And they gave the money, which was weighed out, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh; and they ¹paid it out to the craftsmen of wood and the builders who worked on the house of Yahweh; ¹²and ^ato the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the damages to the house of Yahweh, and for all that ¹was laid out for the house to repair it. ¹³But ^athere were not made for the house of Yahweh ^bsilver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver from the money which was brought into the house of Yahweh; ¹⁴for they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of Yahweh. ¹⁵Moreover, ^athey did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they paid the money in order to pay those who did the work, for they were doing it faithfully. ¹⁶The ^amoney from the guilt offerings and ^bthe money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of Yahweh; ^cit was for the priests.

¹⁷Then ^aHazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it, and ^bHazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁸^aAnd Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had set apart as holy, and ^bhis own holy things and all the gold that was found among the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and of the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then he went away from Jerusalem.

Amaziah Reigns over Judah

¹⁹Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁰^aAnd his servants arose and made a conspiracy and ^bstruck down Joash at ^cthe house of Millo as he was going down to Silla. ²¹Now Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of ^aShomer, his servants, struck him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and ^bAmaziah his son became king in his place.

Joash Reigns over Judah

24^aJoash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba. ²^aAnd Joash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³And Jehoiada took up two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

The Levites Did Not Act Quickly

⁴Now it happened afterwards, that Joash ¹had in his heart ^ato restore the house of Yahweh. ⁵And he gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all ^aIsrael to ¹repair the house of your God ²annually, and you shall do the matter quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶So the king called for Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem ^athe levy fixed by Moses the servant of Yahweh on the congregation of Israel ^bfor the tent of the testimony?” ⁷For ^athe sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and even ¹used the holy things of the house of Yahweh for the Baals.

The House of Yahweh Restored

⁸So the king said the word, and ^athey made a chest and put it outside by the gate of the house of Yahweh. ⁹^aAnd they ¹made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to Yahweh ^bthe levy fixed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰And all the officials and all the people were glad and brought in their levies and ¹dropped them into the chest until they had ²finished. ¹¹Now it happened that whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by the hand of the Levites, and when ^athey saw that there was much money, then the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, take it, and return it to its place. Thus they did daily and collected much money. ¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh; and they hired masons and ¹carpenters to restore the house of Yahweh, and also craftsmen in iron and bronze to ²repair the house of Yahweh. ¹³So those who did the work labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ¹restored the house of God ²according to its specifications and strengthened it. ¹⁴When they had completed it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of Yahweh, utensils for the ministry and the burnt offering, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they were offering burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵Then Jehoiada became old and full of days, and he died; he was 130 years old at his death. ¹⁶They buried him ^ain the city of David among the kings, because he had done what is good in ^bIsrael and ¹to God and His house.

¹⁷But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. ¹⁸And they forsook ^athe house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and ^bserved the ¹Asherim and the idols; so ^cwrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. ¹⁹Yet ^aHe sent prophets to them to bring them back to Yahweh; though they testified against them, they did not give ear.

People Conspire Against Zechariah

²⁰^aNow the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘^bWhy do you trespass against the commandments of Yahweh and do not succeed? ^cBecause you have forsaken Yahweh, He has also forsaken you.’” ²¹So ^athey conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him ¹to death in the court of the house of Yahweh. ²²Thus Joash the king did not remember the lovingkindness which his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he killed his son. And as he died he said, “May ^aYahweh see and ¹avenge!”

Aram Comes Up Against Judah

²³Now it happened at the turn of the year that ^athe military force of the Arameans came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴Indeed the military force of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet ^aYahweh gave a very great military force into their hands, ^bbecause they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.

²⁵^aWhen they had gone from him (for they left him very sick), his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ¹son 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. ²⁶Now these are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷Now as to his sons and the many ¹oracles against him and ^athe ²rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the ³^,^btreatise of the Book of the Kings. Then Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Footnotes

24:41 Lit was with a heart
24:51 Lit to strengthen
24:52 Lit from year to year
24:71 Lit made
24:91 Lit gave a voice
24:101 Lit threw
24:102 Lit completed
24:121 Or craftsmen of wood, cf. 2 Sam 5:11; 2 Chr 24:12b
24:122 Lit strengthen
24:131 Lit caused to stand
24:132 Lit upon its proportion
24:161 Lit with
24:181 Wooden symbols of a female deity
24:211 Lit with stones
24:221 Or require; lit seek
24:251 As in some ancient versions; Heb sons
24:271 Or burdens upon
24:272 Lit founding
24:273 Heb midrash

Cross references

The Scribes and Pharisees Denounced

23^aThen Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ²saying: “^aThe scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³therefore all that they tell you, do and keep, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴“^aAnd they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵“But they do all their deeds ^ato be noticed by men; for they ^bbroaden their ¹phylacteries and lengthen ^cthe tassels of their garments. ⁶“And they ^alove the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ^aRabbi by men. ⁸“But ^ado not be called ^bRabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹“And do not call anyone on earth your father; for ^aOne is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰“Do not be called instructors; for One is your Instructor, that is, Christ. ¹¹“^aBut the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹²“^aAnd whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees

¹³“^aBut woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^bbecause you shut off the kingdom of heaven ¹from ²people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴¹[“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ^ayou devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ¹^,^aproselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ²^,^bhell as yourselves.

¹⁶“Woe to you, ^ablind guides, who say, ‘^bWhoever swears by the ¹sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ²sanctuary is obligated.’ ¹⁷“You fools and blind men! For ^awhich is ¹more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸“And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ¹offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹“You blind men, ^awhich is ¹more important, the ²offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ³offering? ²⁰“Therefore, ¹whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ²the altar and by everything on it. ²¹“And ¹whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the ²sanctuary and by Him who ^adwells within it. ²²“And ¹whoever swears by heaven, ^aswears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³“^aWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ¹cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴“You ^ablind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^ayou clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ¹of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶“You blind Pharisee, first ^aclean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷“^aWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸“In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“^aWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹“So you bear witness against yourselves, that you ^aare ¹sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³²“Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³“You serpents, ^ayou brood of vipers, how ¹will you escape the ²sentence of ³^,^bhell?

³⁴“^aOn account of this, behold, ^bI am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^cflog in your synagogues, and ^dpersecute from city to city, ³⁵so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^aAbel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^bson of Berechiah, whom ^cyou murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶“Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^athis generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷“^aJerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^bkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^cthe way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want it. ³⁸“Behold, ^ayour house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹“For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^aBlessed is He who comes in the name of the ¹Lord!’”

Signs of Christ’s Return

24^aAnd coming ^bout from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ²And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^anot one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³Now as He was sitting on ^athe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^bYour coming and of the ¹end of the age?”

⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “^aSee to it that no one deceives you. ⁵“For ^amany will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ¹Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶“And you are going to hear of ^awars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷“For ^anation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^bfamines and earthquakes. ⁸“^aBut all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“^aThen they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^byou will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰“And at that time many will ¹^,^afall away and will ²betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹“Many ^afalse prophets will arise and will deceive many. ¹²“And because lawlessness is multiplied, ¹most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³“^aBut the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴“And this ^agospel of the kingdom ^bshall be proclaimed in the whole ¹^,^cworld as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁵“Therefore when you see the ^aabomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^bthe holy place (^clet the reader understand), ¹⁶then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁷“¹Whoever is on ^athe housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ¹⁸“And ¹whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁹“But ^awoe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰“But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹“For then there will be a ^agreat tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²²“And unless those days had been cut short, no ¹life would have been saved; but for ^athe sake of the ²elect those days will be cut short. ²³“^aThen if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ¹Christ,’ or ‘²There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴“For false christs and ^afalse prophets will arise and will ¹show great ²^,^bsigns and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even ^cthe ³elect. ²⁵“Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶“Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ²⁷“^aFor just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the ^bcoming of the ^cSon of Man be. ²⁸“^aWherever the corpse is, there the ¹vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹“But immediately after the ^atribulation of those days ^bthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^cthe stars will fall from ¹the sky, and the powers of ²the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰“And then ^athe sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^bthe Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹“And ^aHe will send forth His angels with ^ba great trumpet and they will gather together His ¹^,^celect from ^dthe four winds, from one end of the sky to the ²other.

We Will Boast in the Name of Yahweh

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

May Yahweh answer you ^ain the day of distress!May the ^bname of the ^cGod of Jacob set you securely on high!²May He send you help ^afrom the sanctuaryAnd ^buphold you from Zion!³May He ^aremember all your meal offeringsAnd ^bfind your burnt offering ¹acceptable! ² Selah.⁴May He grant you your ^aheart’s desireAnd ^bfulfill all your ¹counsel!⁵¹We will ^asing for joy over your salvation,And in the name of our God we will ^bset up our banners.May Yahweh ^cfulfill all your petitions.⁶Now ^aI know that Yahweh saves His anointed;He will ^banswer him from His holy heavenWith the ¹^,^csaving might of His right hand.⁷Some boast in chariots and some in ^ahorses,But ^bwe will ¹boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.⁸They have ^abowed down and fallen,But we have ^brisen and stood upright.⁹¹^,^aSave, O Yahweh;May the ^bKing answer us in the day we call.