The Daily Audio Bible

Joash Becomes King

24 Joash was seven years old when he became king. And he ruled forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the religious leader. ³ Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

⁴ After this Joash decided to do the work that was needed on the Lord’s house. ⁵ He gathered the religious leaders and Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah. And gather money from all Israel to pay for the work needed to be done on the house of your God from year to year. Be quick about it.” But the Levites did not hurry. ⁶ So the king called for Jehoiada the head religious leader, and said to him, “Why have you not made the Levites bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax set by Moses the Lord’s servant? All the people of Israel were to pay taxes for the tent of the Law.” ⁷ For the sons of that sinful woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God. They even used the holy things of the Lord’s house for the false gods of Baal.

⁸ So the king had them make a box and set it outside by the gate of the Lord’s house. ⁹ And they made it known in Judah and Jerusalem that the tax set by God’s servant Moses on Israel in the desert must be brought to the Lord. ¹⁰ Then all the leaders and all the people were filled with joy. They brought in their taxes and put the money into the box until they had finished. ¹¹ The Levites would bring the box in to the king’s helper. And when they saw that there was much money, the king’s writer and the head religious leader’s helper would come and empty the box. They would take out the money and return the box to its place. They did this each day, and gathered much money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who watched over the work being done on the Lord’s house. They paid those who worked with stone and wood and iron and brass, for the work done on the Lord’s house. ¹³ So the workmen worked hard doing what needed to be done. The house of God was like new again, just as it was planned. They made it strong. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. From it were made the objects used in the Lord’s house. These things were made for the worship and the burnt gifts. Then dishes and pots of gold and silver were made. And they gave burnt gifts in the house of the Lord all the time, all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ When Jehoiada had lived a long time, he died. He died when he was 130 years old. ¹⁶ They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel, and to God and His house. ¹⁷ But after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and bowed down in front of the king. And the king listened to them. ¹⁸ They left the house of the Lord the God of their fathers, and worshiped the false gods of Asherah and the objects made to look like them. So anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their sin. ¹⁹ Yet God sent men who speak for God to bring them back to the Lord. These men of God spoke against them, but they would not listen. ²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. He stood where he could be seen by the people and said to them, “God says, ‘Why do you sin against the Laws of the Lord, and bring trouble on yourselves? Because you have left the Lord, He has left you.’” ²¹ So they made plans against him. At the king’s word, they killed Zechariah with stones in the open space of the Lord’s house. ²² So Joash the king did not remember the kindness his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he killed his son. And when Zechariah was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and punish!”

The Death of Joash

²³ At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people. And they sent all they had taken in battle to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ The army of the Syrians came with a small number of men. But the Lord let them win against a very large army. Because the people of Judah and Jerusalem had turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Syrians were used to punish Joash. ²⁵ When they had left Joash, leaving him very sick, his own servants made plans against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the religious leader. And they 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 graves of the kings. ²⁶ The men who made plans against Joash were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ Now the story of his sons, and the words spoken by wise men against him, and the work done on the house of God, are written in the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became king in his place.

Amaziah Rules Judah

25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a whole heart. ³ As soon as the nation was under his rule, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king. ⁴ But he did not kill their children. He did what is written in the Law in the book of Moses. The Lord had said in this Law, “Fathers must not be put to death for the children. And children must not be put to death for the fathers. Each must be put to death for his own sin.” ^(A)

The War against Edom

⁵ Then Amaziah gathered the men of Judah together. He put them, by their fathers’ houses, under the rule of captains of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He numbered those who were twenty years old and older. And he found that they were 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war and fight with spear and battle-covering. ⁶ He also asked for the help of 100,000 powerful soldiers from Israel and paid them with silver weighing as much as 100 men. ⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you. For the Lord is not with Israel. He is not with all these sons of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you think that in this way you will be strong in war, God will destroy you in front of those who fight you. For God has power to help and to destroy.” ⁹ Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what should I do about the silver weighing as much as 100 men, which I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord has much more to give you than this.” ¹⁰ Then Amaziah sent the army home which had come to him from Ephraim. These hired soldiers were angry at the people of Judah. As they returned home they were very angry.

¹¹ Now Amaziah made himself strong of heart, and he led his people to the Valley of Salt and killed 10,000 men of Seir. ¹² The men of Judah also took 10,000 men alive. They brought them to the top of a high rock and threw them down from it, so they were all crushed to pieces. ¹³ But the soldiers from Israel whom Amaziah had sent back from going with him to battle came and fought against the cities of Judah. They fought cities from Samaria to Beth-horon, and killed 3,000 people living in them. And they took many things which had belonged to the people in these cities.

¹⁴ After Amaziah came from killing the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir. He set them up as his gods. He bowed down in front of them, and burned special perfume to them. ¹⁵ Then the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent a man who speaks for God to him, saying, “Why have you worshiped the gods of the people? These gods have not saved their own people from your hand.” ¹⁶ But as he was speaking the king said to him, “Have we chosen you to give words of wisdom to the king? Stop! Or I will have you put to death.” So the man who spoke for God stopped, but said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you because you have done this. And you have not listened to what I have said.”

Israel Wins over Judah

¹⁷ Then King Amaziah of Judah spoke with his wise men, and sent word to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face each other.” ¹⁸ King Joash of Israel sent an answer to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush in Lebanon sent word to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife.’ But a wild animal of Lebanon passed by and crushed the thorn bush under its feet. ¹⁹ You say, ‘See, I have destroyed Edom.’ And your heart has become proud by what you say. Now stay at home. Why should you bring trouble so you will fall, and Judah with you?” ²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen. God had planned that He would give Judah into the hand of Joash because Judah had worshiped the gods of Edom. ²¹ So King Joash of Israel met King Amaziah of Judah in battle at Beth-shemesh of Judah. ²² And Judah lost the battle to Israel. Each man ran away to his home. ²³ King Joash of Israel took King Amaziah of Judah, the son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem. He tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, as much wall as 200 long steps. ²⁴ And he took all the gold and silver, and all the objects found in the house of God with Obed-edom. He took the riches of the king’s house, and people also, and returned to Samaria.

The Death of Amaziah

²⁵ Amaziah, the son of King Joash of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash, the son of King Jehoahaz of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ After Amaziah turned away from the Lord, they made plans against him in Jerusalem, and he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish, and killed him there. ²⁸ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

12 Christian brothers, I ask you from my heart to give your bodies to God because of His loving-kindness to us. Let your bodies be a living and holy gift given to God. He is pleased with this kind of gift. This is the true worship that you should give Him. ² Do not act like the sinful people of the world. Let God change your life. First of all, let Him give you a new mind. Then you will know what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and pleasing and perfect.

³ God has given me His loving-favor. This helps me write these things to you. I ask each one of you not to think more of himself than he should think. Instead, think in the right way toward yourself by the faith God has given you. ⁴ Our bodies are made up of many parts. None of these parts have the same use. ⁵ There are many people who belong to Christ. And yet, we are one body which is Christ’s. We are all different but we depend on each other. ⁶ We all have different gifts that God has given to us by His loving-favor. We are to use them. If someone has the gift of preaching the Good News, he should preach. He should use the faith God has given him. ⁷ If someone has the gift of helping others, then he should help. If someone has the gift of teaching, he should teach. ⁸ If someone has the gift of speaking words of comfort and help, he should speak. If someone has the gift of sharing what he has, he should give from a willing heart. If someone has the gift of leading other people, he should lead them. If someone has the gift of showing kindness to others, he should be happy as he does it.

⁹ Be sure your love is true love. Hate what is sinful. Hold on to whatever is good. ¹⁰ Love each other as Christian brothers. Show respect for each other. ¹¹ Do not be lazy but always work hard. Work for the Lord with a heart full of love for Him. ¹² Be happy in your hope. Do not give up when trouble comes. Do not let anything stop you from praying. ¹³ Share what you have with Christian brothers who are in need. Give meals and a place to stay to those who need it. ¹⁴ Pray and give thanks for those who make trouble for you. Yes, pray for them instead of talking against them. ¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. ¹⁶ Live in peace with each other. Do not act or think with pride. Be happy to be with poor people. Keep yourself from thinking you are so wise. ¹⁷ When someone does something bad to you, do not pay him back with something bad. Try to do what all men know is right and good. ¹⁸ As much as you can, live in peace with all men. ¹⁹ Christian brothers, never pay back someone for the bad he has done to you. Let the anger of God take care of the other person. The Holy Writings say, “I will pay back to them what they should get, says the Lord.” ^{(A) 20} “If the one who hates you is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him water. If you do that, you will be making him more ashamed of himself.” ^{(B) 21} Do not let sin have power over you. Let good have power over sin!

¹⁹ But You, O Lord, be not far from me! O my Strength, hurry to help me! ²⁰ Take me away from the sword. Save my life from the power of the dog. ²¹ Save me from the lion’s mouth, and from the horns of the wild bulls You answer me.

²² I will make Your name known to my brothers. In the center of the meeting of worship I will praise You. ²³ You who fear the Lord, give Him praise. All you children of Jacob, honor Him. Fear Him, all you children of Israel. ²⁴ For He has not turned away from the suffering of the one in pain or trouble. He has not hidden His face from him. But He has heard his cry for help.

²⁵ My praise will be from You in the big meeting of worship. I will keep my promises to Him in front of those who fear Him. ²⁶ Those who suffer will eat and have enough. Those who look for the Lord will praise Him. May your heart live forever! ²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will worship before Him. ²⁸ For the holy nation is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations. ²⁹ All the proud ones of the earth will eat and worship. All who go down to the dust will fall to their knees before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive. ³⁰ Future children will serve Him. They will tell of the Lord to their children. ³¹ They will come and tell about His saving power to a people yet to be born. For He has done it.

⁸ A king who sits on his throne to judge finds out all sin with his eyes.

⁹ Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, and I am pure from my sin?”

¹⁰ The Lord hates the use of tools that lie about how heavy or how long something is.