2 Chronicles 24

KJV · Chapter 24/36

¹Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beer–sheba.

²And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.

⁴And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord.

⁵And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.

⁶And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?

⁷For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim.

⁸And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord.

⁹And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.

¹¹Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord.

¹³So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.

¹⁴And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.

¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.

¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.

¹⁸And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

¹⁹Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

²⁰And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.

²¹And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.

²²Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.

²³And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.

²⁴For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.

²⁵And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.

²⁶And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess.

²⁷Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Joash reigns well while the priest Jehoiada, his mentor, is alive, organizing the repair of the temple with contributions from the people. But after Jehoiada's death, Joash turns away from God, even having Jehoiada's own son put to death for denouncing this apostasy. As a result, Judah is attacked by Syria, and Joash is assassinated by his own servants.

Explanation

Joash's trajectory dramatically illustrates how spiritual faithfulness can depend excessively on outside influence rather than genuine personal conviction: while Jehoiada was alive to guide him, Joash did what was right, but as soon as that influence was gone, he quickly became corrupt. The most shocking act of the chapter is Joash having Zechariah, son of the very Jehoiada who had saved him as an infant and crowned him king, stoned to death simply for daring to denounce his idolatry — an act of ingratitude and cruelty that Jesus later cites in the New Testament as the supreme example of the rejection of God's messengers throughout Israel's history. Joash's violent death at the hands of his own servants, driven by vengeance for the blood of Zechariah, shows the tragic, cyclical consequences of violence and apostasy.

Fun facts

Jesus directly mentions 'the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias' (Matthew 23:35) as an example of the historical pattern of rejecting and persecuting God's faithful messengers, a direct reference to this episode in 2 Chronicles.
Zechariah's last words before dying, 'The Lord look upon it, and require it,' echo as a plea for divine justice that is fulfilled just a few verses later with the assassination of Joash.

Verse-by-verse explanation

2 Chronicles 24:1Joash was only seven years old when he began to reign, and he governed forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.
2 Chronicles 24:2The Chronicler praises Joash, but with an important qualification already built in: he did what was right as long as the priest Jehoiada was alive — a condition that will carry weight later on.
2 Chronicles 24:3Jehoiada chooses two wives for Joash, who has sons and daughters with them — the priest cares for the young king almost like a guardian.
2 Chronicles 24:4Once grown, Joash decides it is time to restore the temple, which had fallen into disrepair since the days of Athaliah.
2 Chronicles 24:5Joash orders the priests and Levites to go through the cities of Judah collecting money every year for the repair of the temple, but the Levites are slow to act.
2 Chronicles 24:6Faced with the delay, the king summons Jehoiada and asks why he had not required the Levites to collect the tax that Moses had already established for the upkeep of the tabernacle.
2 Chronicles 24:7The text explains the reason for the urgency: the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken up the temple and had even used its sacred objects for the worship of the Baals.
2 Chronicles 24:8Joash has a chest for donations set up at the gate of the temple to collect money for the building’s repair, a very concrete, straightforward collection system, almost like a public collection box.
2 Chronicles 24:9An official proclamation is announced throughout Judah and Jerusalem, calling on the people to bring the contribution that Moses had already established in the wilderness.
2 Chronicles 24:10The officials and the people rejoice at the request and bring the money, putting it all into the collection chest until it is full.
2 Chronicles 24:11Whenever the chest was full, a scribe of the king and an officer of the high priest would empty its contents and put it back in place — a process repeated daily until an enormous sum had been gathered.
2 Chronicles 24:12The king and Jehoiada hand this money over to those in charge of the work, who hire masons, carpenters, ironworkers, and metalworkers for the complete repair of the temple.
2 Chronicles 24:13The workers press on steadily with the project, restoring the temple to its original condition and even strengthening it further.
2 Chronicles 24:14With the money left over, they make gold and silver vessels for the temple service, and regular sacrifices resume as long as Jehoiada is still alive.
2 Chronicles 24:15Jehoiada grows old and dies satisfied, having lived a hundred thirty years — an exceptionally long life even by biblical standards.
2 Chronicles 24:16Because of the good he did for Israel and for the temple itself, Jehoiada is buried in the City of David among the kings, a rare honor for someone who was not royalty.
2 Chronicles 24:17As soon as Jehoiada dies, the officials of Judah come to Joash and persuade him to listen to them — opening the way for the change of course that follows.
2 Chronicles 24:18Without Jehoiada’s influence, the people abandon the temple and go back to serving sacred poles and idols, drawing God’s wrath down on Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 24:19God sends prophets to try to bring the people back, but they simply will not listen to the warnings.
2 Chronicles 24:20The Spirit of God comes upon Zechariah, son of Jehoiada himself, who confronts the people publicly: because they have forsaken the Lord, He will also forsake them.
2 Chronicles 24:21After the priest Jehoiada dies, King Joash himself — raised and protected by Jehoiada as a child — has Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, stoned to death simply for denouncing the idolatry the king had returned to. It is one of the most shocking betrayals in the book, still remembered centuries later as an example of innocent blood shed.
2 Chronicles 24:22Joash completely forgets the loyalty Jehoiada showed him, and even has his son put to death — who, as he lay dying, declares, “The Lord look upon it, and require it.”
2 Chronicles 24:23A year later, the army of Syria invades Judah and Jerusalem, kills the leaders of the people, and sends all the plunder to the king of Damascus.
2 Chronicles 24:24Even coming with only a small force, the Syrian army wins because God hands Judah over to them — a direct punishment for forsaking the Lord, carrying out judgment against Joash.
2 Chronicles 24:25Shortly after this murder, Joash’s own servants conspire and kill him in his bed, as if the text wanted to close this story with a direct consequence for what he had done to Jehoiada’s son.
2 Chronicles 24:26The conspirators who kill Joash are named: Zabad, son of an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of a Moabite woman.
2 Chronicles 24:27The rest of Joash’s story, including his sons and the restoration of the temple, is recorded in the book of the kings; his son Amaziah takes the throne next.

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