Apr 13 - 2 Chronicles 21-24
2 Chronicles
1Then Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and he was buried with them in the City of David. And his son, Jehoram, reigned in his place2And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah3And their father gave to them many gifts of silver, and gold, and valuables, with very fortified cities in Judah. But the kingdom he handed on to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn4Therefore, Jehoram rose up over the kingdom of his father. And when he had established himself, he killed with the sword all his brothers, and certain ones from the leaders of Israel5Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem6And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For his wife was a daughter of Ahab, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord7But the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had formed with him, and because he had promised that he would provide a lamp to him, and to his sons, for all time8In those days, Edom rebelled, so as not to be subject to Judah, and they appointed for themselves a king9And when Jehoram had gone across with his leaders, and all the horsemen who were with him, he arose in the night, and struck the Edomites (who had surrounded him), and all the commanders of his horsemen10Even so, Edom rebelled, so as not to be under the authority of Judah, even to this day. Also at that time, Libnah withdrew, so as not to be under his hand. For he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers11Moreover, he also constructed high places in the cities of Judah. And he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to fornicate, and Judah to prevaricate12Then letters were conveyed to him from the prophet Elijah, in which it was written: "Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat, your father, nor in the ways of Asa, the king of Judah13but instead you have advanced along the paths of the kings of Israel, and you have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to fornicate, imitating the fornication of the house of Ahab, and moreover, you have killed your brothers, the house of your father, who are better than you14behold, the Lord will strike you with a great plague, with all your people, and your sons and wives, and all your substance15And you shall be sickened by a very grievous disease of your bowels, until your inner organs depart, little by little, each day.16Therefore, the Lord stirred up, against Jehoram, the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who are along the borders of the Ethiopians17And they ascended into the land of Judah. And they laid waste to it. And they despoiled all the substance that was found in the house of the king, including even his sons and wives. Neither did there remain for him any son, except Jehoahaz, who was the youngest born18And in addition to all these things, the Lord struck him with an incurable disease of the bowels19And as day followed after day, and the space of time turned, the course of two years was completed. And after having been wasted by a long consumption, so much so that even his inner organs were discharged, the disease ended along with his life. And so he died of a very grievous illness. And the people did not make a funeral for him, according to the custom of burning, as they had done for his ancestors20He was thirty-two years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. And he did not walk uprightly. And they buried him in the City of David, yet truly, not in the sepulcher of the kings
1Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem appointed his youngest son, Ahaziah, as king in his place. For the robbers of the Arabians, who had fallen upon the camp, had put to death all those who were greater by birth before him. And so Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, reigned as king of Judah2Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri3But he too went forth in the ways of the house of Ahab. For his mother impelled him to act impiously4And so he did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as the house of Ahab did. For after the death of his father, they were counselors to him, to his destruction5And he walked in their counsels. And he went with Joram, the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, to war against Hazael, the king of Syria, at Ramoth Gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram6And he returned, so that he might be cured at Jezreel. For he had received many wounds in the above-stated battle. And so Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, descended, so that he might visit Joram, the son of Ahab, at Jezreel, while he was ill7Indeed, it was the will of God against Ahaziah that he would go to Joram, and when he had gone, that he also would go out with him against Jehu, the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab8Therefore, when Jehu was overthrowing the house of Ahab, he found the leaders of Judah, with the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, who were ministering to him, and he put them to death9Also, while he himself was seeking Ahaziah, he found him to be hiding in Samaria. And having been led to him, he killed him. And they buried him, because he was the son of Jehoshaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart. But there was no longer any hope that someone from the stock of Ahaziah would reign10For indeed, his mother, Athaliah, seeing that her son had died, rose up and killed the entire royal stock of the house of Jehoram11But Jehosheba, the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from the midst the king’s sons when they were being slain. And she hid him with his nurse in a bedroom. Now Jehosheba, the one who had hidden him, was the daughter of king Jehoram, and the wife of the high priest Jehoiada, and the sister of Ahaziah. And because of this, Athaliah did not kill him12Therefore, he was with them, hidden in the house of God, for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land
1Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada having been strengthened, he took the centurions, namely, Azariah, the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, and also Azariah, the son of Obed, and Maaseiah, the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri, and he formed a pact with them2And traveling through Judah, they gathered together the Levites from all of the cities of Judah, and the leaders of the families of Israel, and they went to Jerusalem3Then the entire multitude formed a pact with the king, in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them: "Behold, the son of the king shall reign, just as the Lord has said concerning the sons of David4Therefore, this is the word that you shall do5One third part of you who arrive on the Sabbath, priests, and Levites, and porters, shall be at the gates. Truly, one third part shall be at the house of the king. And one third shall be at the gate which is called the Foundation. Yet truly, let all the remainder of the common people be in the courts of the house of the Lord6Let no one else enter into the house of the Lord, except the priests, and those from the Levites who are ministering. These alone may enter, for they have been sanctified. And let all the remainder of the common people observe the watches of the Lord7Then let the Levites encircle the king, each one having his weapons. And if anyone else will have entered into the temple, let him be slain. And may they be with the king, both entering and departing.8Then the Levites, and all of Judah, acted in accord with all that the high priest Jehoiada had instructed. And each of them took the men who were under him, and who were arriving by the course of the Sabbath, with those who had fulfilled the Sabbath and who were about to depart. For indeed the high priest Jehoiada had not permitted the companies to depart, which were accustomed to replace one another each week9And Jehoiada, the priest, gave to the centurions the lances and round shields and crescent shields of king David, which he had dedicated in the house of the Lord10And he positioned all the people, holding short swords, from the right part of the temple to the left part of the temple, before the altar and the temple, all around the king11And they led out the son of the king. And they imposed the diadem on him, and the testimony. And they gave him the law to hold in his hand. And they appointed him as king. Also, the high priest Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. And they prayed for him, and said, "May the king live!12And when Athaliah had heard it, specifically the sound of running and the praising of the king, she entered to the people in the temple of the Lord13And when she had seen the king standing upon the step at the entrance, and the leaders and companies around him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding the trumpets, and playing on instruments of various kinds, and the voice of those who were praising, she tore her garments, and she said: "Treason! Treason!14Then the high priest Jehoiada, going out to the centurions and to the leaders of the army, said to them: "Lead her away, beyond the borders of the temple. And let her be put to death outside, with the sword." And the priest instructed that she should not be killed in the house of the Lord15And they laid hands on her neck. And when she had entered the gate for the horses at the king’s house, they put her to death there16Then Jehoiada formed a covenant between himself and the entire people, and the king, so that they would be the people of the Lord17And so, all the people entered into the house of Baal, and they destroyed it. And they broke apart his altars and idols. Also, they put to death Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars18Then Jehoiada appointed overseers in the house of the Lord, under the hands of the priests and Levites, whom David had distributed to the house of the Lord so that they might offer holocausts to the Lord, just as it was written in the law of Moses, with gladness and singing, in accord with the disposition of David19Also, he appointed porters at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that whoever was unclean for any reason would not enter20And he took the centurions, and the most valiant men, and the leaders of the people, and all the common people of the land, and they set out to descend to the king, from the house of the Lord, and to enter through the middle of the upper gate, to the house of the king. And they placed him on the royal throne21And all the people of the land were rejoicing, and the city was quieted. But Athaliah was slain with the sword
1Joash was seven years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Zibiah, from Beersheba2And he did what is good before the Lord during all the days of Jehoiada, the priest3Now Jehoiada gave to him two wives, from whom he conceived sons and daughters4After these things, it pleased Joash to repair the house of the Lord5And he gathered together the priests and Levites, and he said to them: "Go out to the cities of Judah, and collect from all of Israel money to repair the surfaces of the temple of your God, throughout each year. And do this promptly." But the Levites acted negligently6And the king summoned Jehoiada, the leader, and he said to him: "Why was there no concern with you, so that you would compel the Levites to bring, from Judah and from Jerusalem, the money that was appointed by Moses, the servant of the Lord, so as to bring it, from the entire multitude of Israel, to the tabernacle of the testimony7For that very impious woman Athaliah and her sons have destroyed the house of God, and they have adorned the shrine of Baal from all the things that had been sanctified in the temple of the Lord.8Therefore, the king instructed, and they made an ark. And they placed it beside the gate of the house of the Lord, on the outside9And they proclaimed, in Judah and Jerusalem, that each one should bring to the Lord the money that Moses, the servant of God, appointed in the desert, concerning all of Israel10And all the leaders and all the people rejoiced. And upon entering, they together took and placed so much into the ark of the Lord that it was filled11And when it was time for them to bring the ark before the king by the hands of the Levites, for they saw that there was much money, the scribe of the king, and the one whom the high priest had appointed, entered. And they poured out the money that was in the ark. Then they carried the ark back to its place. And they did this on each day. And an immense sum of money was gathered12And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who were in charge of the works of the house of the Lord. Then with it they hired hewers of stone, and artisans of every kind, so that they might repair the house of the Lord, and also so that the works of iron and of brass, which had begun to fall, would be reinforced13And those who were hired were working industriously. And the breach in the walls was healed by their hands. And they returned the house of the Lord to a pristine state. And they caused it stand firm14And when they had completed all the works, they brought the remaining part of the money before the king and Jehoiada. And from it, the vessels of the temple were made, for the ministry and for the holocausts, including bowls and other vessels of gold and silver. And holocausts were being offered in the house of the Lord continually, during all the days of Jehoiada15But Jehoiada was old and full of days. And he died when he was one hundred thirty years old16And they buried him in the City of David, with the kings, because he had done good to Israel and to his house17Then, after Jehoiada passed away, the leaders of Judah entered and reverenced the king. And he was enticed by their obsequiousness, and so he acquiesced to them18And they abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and they served sacred groves and graven images. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this sin19And he sent prophets to them, so that they might return to the Lord. And though they were offering testimony, they were not willing to listen to them20And so the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. And he stood in the sight of the people, and he said to them: "Thus says the Lord God: Why have you transgressed the precept of the Lord, though it was not to your benefit, and why have you abandoned the Lord, so that he would then abandon you?21And gathering together against him, they stoned him, beside the place of the king, in the atrium of the house of the Lord22And king Joash did not remember the mercy with which Jehoiada, his father, had treated him; instead he put to death his son. And as he was dying, he said: "May the Lord see and take account.23And when a year had turned, the army of Syria ascended against him. And they went to Judah and Jerusalem. And they put to death all the leaders of the people. And they sent all the spoils to the king of Damascus24And although certainly there had arrived a very small number of Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an immense multitude. For they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Also, against Joash they executed disgraceful judgments25And upon departing, they left him greatly debilitated. Then his servants rose up against him, in vengeance for the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest. And they killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings26Truly, those who ambushed him were Zabad, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shimrith27But concerning his sons, and the sum of money that had been amassed under him, and the repairing of the house of God, these things have been written more diligently in the book of kings. Then his son, Amaziah, reigned in his place