The Daily Audio Bible

Joash Repairs the Temple

24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 40 years. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of Adonai all the days of Jehoiada the kohen.

³ Jehoiada took two wives by whom he fathered sons and daughters. ⁴ It came to pass after this that Joash had a heart to renovate the House of Adonai. ⁵ He assembled the kohanim and the Levites and told them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel year by year to repair the House of your God. Do this quickly!”

However, the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶ So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief and asked him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of Adonai on the congregation of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?”

⁷ For the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the House of God, and had even used all the sacred things of the House of Adonai for the Baalim^[a]. ⁸ So the king commanded that a box be made and placed outside the gate of the House of Adonai. ⁹ A proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in to Adonai the tax of Moses, God’s servant, upon Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officers and all the people rejoiced, and brought in and cast into the chest until it was full. ¹¹ Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king’s officers and when they saw that it was full of money, the royal scribe and the officer of the kohen gadol would come and empty the box and take it back to its place. Thus they did daily and gathered much money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to workmen who carried out the work for the House of Adonai. They hired masons and carpenters to renovate the House of Adonai, as well as craftsmen in iron and bronze to repair the House of Adonai. ¹³ So the workmen labored and the renovation work progressed in their hands. They restored the House of God to its original design, and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the remainder of the money before the king and Jehoiada and they made it into vessels for the House of Adonai—vessels for avodah and for burnt offering, pans and utensils of gold and silver. Then they offered burnt offerings in the House of Adonai continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ When Jehoiada reached a ripe old age, he died. He was 130 years old when he died. ¹⁶ So he was buried in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good things in Israel and toward God and His House.

Joash Betrays the Righeous Kohen

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada, the chiefs of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Then the king listened to them. ¹⁸ They forsook the House of Adonai, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and the idols. Wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their guilt. ¹⁹ Adonai sent prophets to them to bring them back to Him and although they admonished them, they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Ruach Elohim came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the kohen.^[b] He stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you transgress the mitzvot of Adonai? You will not succeed. Because you have forsaken Adonai, He has also forsaken you.’”

²¹ But they conspired against him, and by order of the king, they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the House of Adonai. ²² Thus King Joash disregarded the loyalty which his father Jehoiada had shown to him—and slew Jehoiada’s son. As he was dying, he said: “May Adonai see and avenge!”

Judgment on Joash and His Chieftains

²³ It came to pass that at the turn of the year, the Aramean army came up against him. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and massacred all the chieftains of the people, and sent all their plunder to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Aramean army came with only a small number of men, Adonai gave over a much larger army into their hands, because they had forsaken Adonai, God of their fathers. So they executed judgment upon Joash. ²⁵ When they withdrew from him—for they left him very sick—his own servants plotted against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the kohen, and assassinated him on his bed. He died and was buried in the city of David—but not in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ These men conspired against him: Zabad son of Shimiath the Ammonitess and Jehozabad son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷ Now concerning his sons and the many prophesies against him and the rebuilding of the House of God, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Amaziah Begins Well

25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan from Jerusalem. ² Now he did what was right in the eyes of Adonai, but not wholeheartedly. ³ Once he had the kingdom firmly secured under him, he executed his courtiers who had assassinated his father the king. ⁴ He did not put their children to death, but acted according to what is written in the Torah, in the book of Moses, which Adonai commanded saying,

“Parents should not die for the children, neither should the children die for the parents, but every person should die for his own sin.”

⁵ Amaziah gathered together the people of Judah and assigned them according to their clans to officers of thousands and officers of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those from 20 years old and upward, and found 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war, able to handle spear and shield. ⁶ He also hired 100,000 valiant warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Adonai is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. ⁸ For if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down.”

⁹ But Amaziah said to the man of God, “And what is to be done about the 100 talents that I have given to the Israelite troops?”

The man of God answered, “Adonai is able to give you much more than that.”

¹⁰ So, Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim to go back to their homes. Their anger burned greatly against Judah and they returned home in a rage.

¹¹ Amaziah then took courage and leading his army, marched to the Valley of Salt. He struck down 10,000 men of Seir. ¹² The army of Judah also captured 10,000 alive, and brought them to the top of the cliff. They threw them down from the top of the cliff and everyone fell to their death.

¹³ Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and not allowed to go with him to battle raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon. They struck down 3,000 of them and took considerable spoils.

Idolatry and Defiance

¹⁴ Now after Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he had the gods of the men of Seir brought and installed as his gods. He prostrated himself before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ The anger of Adonai burned against Amaziah, and He sent a prophet to him, who said to him, “Why have you sought after the gods of the people who could not deliver their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶ But while he was still speaking to him, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you a counselor to the king? Stop! Why should you be struck down?”

So the prophet stopped after he said, “Now I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have acted this way and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷ Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent this message to Joash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

¹⁸ Joash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah saying: “The thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trambled the thorn bush. ¹⁹ You say, ‘Behold, I have defeated Edom.’ So now your heart has become arrogant and proud. Stay home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah with you?”

²⁰ However, Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God in order that He might deliver them into the hand of Joash because they had sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah confronted one another at Beth-shemesh, which belonged to Judah. ²² Then Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his tent. ²³ King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah—son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz—in Beth-shemesh. Then Joash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim gate to the Corner Gate, 400 cubits. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in the House of God with Obed-edom, together with the treasuries of the king’s palace and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Amaziah the son of King Joash of Judah lived 15 years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, the first and the last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷ From the time that Amaziah turned away from following Adonai, they conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish and put him to death there. ²⁸ Then they brought him back on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Be Dead to Self

12 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service. ² Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

³ For through the grace given me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think—but to use sound judgment, as God has assigned to each person a measure of faith. ⁴ For just as we have many parts in one body—and all the parts do not have the same function— ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Messiah and everyone parts of one another. ⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace that was given to us—if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; or the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ or the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who gives, in generosity; the one who leads, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy—detesting what is evil, holding fast to the good. ¹⁰ Be tenderly devoted to one another in brotherly love; outdo one another in giving honor. ¹¹ Do not be lagging in zeal; be fervent in spirit. Keep serving the Lord, ¹² rejoicing in hope, enduring in distress, persisting in prayer, ¹³ contributing to the needs of the kedoshim, extending hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you—bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. ^{[a] 16} Live in harmony with one another; do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own eyes. ^{[b] 17} Repay no one evil for evil;^[c] give thought to what is good in the eyes of all people. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in shalom with all people. ¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, loved ones, but give room for God’s wrath—for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,”^[d] says Adonai. ²⁰ Rather, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For by doing so you will heap coals of fire upon his head.” ^{[e] 21} Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.