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20 God’s Spirit energized[a] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous. Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’” 21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Joash disregarded[b] the loyalty Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s[c] son. As Zechariah[d] was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!”[e]

23 At the beginning[f] of the year the Syrian army attacked[g] Joash[h] and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus. 24 Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army,[i] for the people of Judah[j] had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians[k] gave Joash what he deserved.[l] 25 When they withdrew, they left Joash[m] badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done to[n] the son[o] of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thus[p] he died and was buried in the City of David,[q] but not in the tombs of the kings.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:20 tn Heb “clothed.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 24:22 tn Heb “did not remember.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 24:22 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. 2 Chronicles 24:22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Zechariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. 2 Chronicles 24:22 tn Heb “and seek [—].” The direct object of “seek” is omitted in the Hebrew text but implied; “vengeance” is supplied for clarification.
  6. 2 Chronicles 24:23 tn Heb “turning.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 24:23 tn Heb “went up against.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 24:23 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. 2 Chronicles 24:24 tn Heb “though with a small amount of men the army of Aram came, the Lord gave into their hand an army [that was] very large.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 24:24 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. 2 Chronicles 24:24 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. 2 Chronicles 24:24 tn Heb “executed judgments on Joash.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 24:25 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. 2 Chronicles 24:25 tn Heb “because of the shed blood of.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 24:25 tc The MT has the plural בְּנֵי (bene, “sons”), but the final yod is dittographic. Note the yod that immediately follows.
  16. 2 Chronicles 24:25 tn Heb “and he died.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 24:25 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.