King Joash of Judah
(2 Kings 12.1-16)1 Joash became king of Judah at the age of seven, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was Zibiah from the city of Beersheba. 2 He did what was pleasing to the Lord as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for King Joash, and they bore him sons and daughters.
4 After he had been king for a while, Joash decided to have the Temple repaired. 5 He ordered the priests and the Levites to go to the cities of Judah and collect from all the people enough money to make the annual repairs on the Temple. He told them to act promptly, but the Levites delayed, 6 so he called in Jehoiada, their leader, and demanded, “Why haven't you seen to it that the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax which Moses, the servant of the Lord, required the people to pay for support of the Tent of the Lord's presence?”
( 7 The followers of Athaliah, that corrupt woman, had damaged the Temple and had used many of the sacred objects in the worship of Baal.)
8 The king ordered the Levites to make a box for contributions and to place it at the Temple gate. 9 They sent word throughout Jerusalem and Judah for everyone to bring to the Lord the tax which Moses, God's servant, had first collected in the wilderness. 10 This pleased the people and their leaders, and they brought their tax money and filled the box with it. 11 Every day the Levites would take the box to the royal official who was in charge of it. Whenever it was full, the royal secretary and the High Priest's representative would take the money out and return the box to its place. And so they collected a large sum of money.
12 The king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who were in charge of repairing the Temple, and they hired stonemasons, carpenters, and metalworkers to make the repairs. 13 All of them worked hard, and they restored the Temple to its original condition, as solid as ever. 14 When the repairs were finished, the remaining gold and silver was given to the king and Jehoiada, who used it to have bowls and other utensils made for the Temple.
Jehoiada's Policies Are Reversed
As long as Jehoiada was alive, sacrifices were offered regularly at the Temple. 15 After reaching the very old age of a hundred and thirty, he died. 16 They buried him in the royal tombs in David's City in recognition of the service he had done for the people of Israel, for God, and for the Temple.
17 But once Jehoiada was dead, the leaders of Judah persuaded King Joash to listen to them instead. 18 And so the people stopped worshiping in the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and began to worship idols and the images of the goddess Asherah. Their guilt for these sins brought the Lord's anger on Judah and Jerusalem. 19 The Lord sent prophets to warn them to return to him, but the people refused to listen. 20 Then the spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood where the people could see him and called out, “The Lord God asks why you have disobeyed his commands and are bringing disaster on yourselves! You abandoned him, so he has abandoned you!” 21 King Joash joined in a conspiracy against Zechariah, and on the king's orders the people stoned Zechariah in the Temple courtyard. 22 The king forgot about the loyal service that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had given him, and he had Zechariah killed. As Zechariah was dying, he called out, “May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you!”
The End of Joash's Reign
23 When autumn came that year, the Syrian army attacked Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the leaders, and took large amounts of loot back to Damascus. 24 The Syrian army was small, but the Lord let them defeat a much larger Judean army because the people had abandoned him, the Lord God of their ancestors. In this way King Joash was punished. 25 He was severely wounded, and when the enemy withdrew, two of his officials plotted against him and killed him in his bed to avenge the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest. He was buried in David's City, but not in the royal tombs. ( 26 Those who plotted against him were Zabad, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shimrith.) 27 The Commentary on the Book of Kings contains the stories of the sons of Joash, the prophecies spoken against him, and the record of how he rebuilt the Temple. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.
يوآش ملك يهوذا
(2مل 12:1-17)1 وكانَ يوآشُ ابنَ سَبعِ سِنينَ حينَ ملَكَ، وملَكَ أربَعينَ سنَةً بِأورُشليمَ، وكانَ اسْمُ أمِّهِ ظَبْيَةَ مِنْ بِئرَ سَبْعَ. 2 وعَمِلَ يوآشُ ما هوَ قَويمٌ في نظَرِ الرّبِّ كُلَّ أيّامِ يُوياداعَ الكاهنِ 3 الّذي زَوَّجَهُ بِامرَأتَينِ فوَلَدَ بَنينَ وبَناتٍ.
4 وبَعدَ ذلِكَ عزَمَ يوآشُ على تَجديدِ هَيكلِ الرّبِّ 5 فجَمَعَ الكهَنةَ واللاَّويِّينَ وقالَ لهُم: «أخرُجوا إلى مُدُنِ يَهوذا واجمَعوا مالا مِنْ جميعِ الشَّعبِ لِتَرميمِ هَيكلِ إلهِكُم سنَةً بَعدَ سنَةٍ، وعَجِّلوا». غَيرَ أنَّ اللاَّويِّينَ لم يُعَجِّلوا. 6 فاستَدعى المَلِكُ رئيسَهُم يُوياداعَ وسألَهُ: «لِماذا لم تَطلُبْ مِنَ اللاَّويِّينَ أنْ يأخُذوا مِنْ يَهوذا وأورُشليمَ الضَّريـبةَ الّتي فرَضَها موسى عبدُ الرّبِّ على شعبِهِ لِلعِنايةِ بِـخَيمةِ الشَّهادةِ؟ 7 فعَثَلْيا الأثيمةُ وأتباعُها أهمَلوا الهَيكلَ واستَعمَلوا جميعَ أدَواتِهِ المُكرَّسَةِ لِلرّبِّ في عِبادةِ البَعلِ».
8 وبِناءً على أمرِ المَلِكِ عَمِلوا صُندوقا ووضَعوهُ عِندَ بابِ الهَيكلِ مِنَ الخارِجِ، 9 ونادوا في يَهوذا وأورُشليمَ بِأنْ يدفَعَ الشَّعبُ الضَّريـبَةَ الّتي فرَضَها علَيهِ موسى عبدُ اللهِ في البرِّيَّةِ. 10 ففَرِحَ جميعُ الشَّعبِ وأعيانُهُ، بِهذا وتَوافَدوا إلى دَفعِ الضَّريـبةِ في الصُّندوقِ حتّى امتَلأَ. 11 وكُلَّما امتَلأَ كانَ يَحمِلُهُ اللاَّويُّونَ إلى ديوانِ المَلِكِ فيُفرِغُهُ رئيسُ الدِّيوانِ ومُعاوِنُ رئيسِ الكهَنةِ، ثُمَّ يأخُذانِهِ ويَرُدَّانِهِ إلى مكانِهِ. وهكذا كانوا يفعَلونَ يوما فيوما حتّى جمَعوا مِنَ المالِ شيئا كثيرا. 12 فأعطاهُ المَلِكُ ويُوياداعُ لِلقائِمينَ بِالعمَلِ على ترميمِ الهَيكلِ، فاستَأجَروا نحَّاتينَ ونجَّارينَ وحدَّادينَ ونحَّاسينَ لِهذا الغرَضِ. 13 وبذَلَ هؤلاءِ العُمَّالُ جَهدَهُم وتَوَفَّقوا بِما عَمِلَت أيديهِم، وأعادوا هَيكلَ اللهِ إلى ما كانَ علَيهِ سابِقا، وثَبَّتوا أركانَهُ. 14 ولمَّا فَرَغوا مِنْ ذلِكَ، أحضَروا ما تبَقَّى مِنَ المالِ إلى المَلِكِ ويُوياداعَ، فعَمِلا بهِ آنيةً وطاساتِ ذهبٍ وفِضَّةٍ لِلخِدمَةِ في الهَيكلِ وتَقديمِ المُحرَقاتِ بِلا انقِطاعٍ كُلَّ أيّامِ يُوياداعَ.
وفاة يوياداع والعودة إلى الأصنام
15 وشاخَ يُوياداعُ وشَبِـعَ مِنَ الأيّامِ وماتَ وهوَ ابنُ مئَةٍ وثَلاثينَ سنَةً. 16 فدَفَنوهُ في مدينةِ داوُدَ معَ المُلوكِ اعتِرافا بِفَضلِهِ على إِسرائيلَ وبِـجَهدِهِ الّذي بذَلَهُ في خِدمةِ اللهِ وهَيكلِهِ.
17 وبَعدَ وفاةِ يُوياداعَ جاءَ زُعَماءُ يَهوذا وأكَّدوا وَلاءَهُم لِلمَلِكِ، فقَرَّبَهُم وجعَلَهُم مِنْ مُستَشاريهِ. 18 فأهمَلَ الشَّعبُ هَيكلَ الرّبِّ إلهِ آبائِهِم وعبَدوا الأصنامَ وتَماثيلَ أشيرةَ، فحَلَّ غضَبُ اللهِ على يَهوذا وأورُشليمَ لِمَعصيَتِهم هذِهِ. 19 فأرسلَ إليهِم أنبـياءَ ليُنذِروهُم ويَرُدُّوهُم إلى الرّبِّ، فلم يَستَمِعوا.
20 ثُمَّ استَولى روحُ اللهِ على زكريّا بنِ يُوياداعَ الكاهنِ فوقَفَ أمامَ الشَّعبِ وقالَ لهُم: «هذا ما قالَ الرّبُّ: لِماذا تُخالِفونَ وصايا الرّبِّ، فتُنزِلونَ الشَّقاءَ بِأنفُسِكُم؟ أهمَلتُمُ الرّبَّ فأهمَلَكُم». 21 فثاروا على زَكريّا ورجَموهُ بِالحجارَةِ بِأمرٍِ مِنَ المَلِكِ يوآشَ في دارِ الهَيكلِ. 22 ولم يَذكُرِ المَلِكُ ما كانَ لِـيُوياداعَ أبـي زَكريّا مِنَ الفَضلِ علَيهِ، بل قتَلَ ابنَهُ الّذي قالَ عِندَ موتِهِ: «الرّبُّ يرى وينتَقِمُ».
آخر أيام يوآش
(2مل 12:18-22)23 وفي خريفِ تِلكَ السَّنةِ زحَفَ جيشُ آرامَ على يَهوذا وأورُشليمَ وقتَلوا جميعَ أعيانِ الشَّعبِ وأرسَلوا كُلَّ غَنائِمِهِم إلى مَلِكِ دِمشقَ، 24 ومعَ أنَّ الجيشَ الآراميَّ كانَ قليلَ العدَدِ، فإنَّ الرّبَّ أسلَمَ إلى أيديهِم جيشَ يَهوذا العظيمَ جِدًّا، لأنَّ الشَّعبَ تَركوا الرّبَّ إلهَ آبائِهِم. وأتَمَّ جيشُ آرامَ قضاءَ الرّبِّ على يوآشَ، 25 إذ تَركوه مُصابا بِـجِراحٍ كثيرةٍ، فاتَّفَقَ علَيهِ خَدَمُهُ انتِقاما لِدَمِ ابنِ يُوياداعَ الكاهنِ وقتَلوهُ في سريرِهِ. فدُفنَ في مدينةِ داوُدَ، لا في مقابِرِ المُلوكِ. 26 وكانَ مِمَّنْ تآمرَ علَيهِ زابادُ بنُ شَمعَةَ العَمُّونيَّةِ، ويوزابادُ بنُ شِمْريتَ الموآبـيَّةِ. 27 أمَّا سيرَةُ بَنيهِ، وكثرةُ النُّبوءاتِ علَيهِ، وترميمُهُ هَيكلَ الرّبِّ، هذا كُلُّهُ مُدَوَّنٌ في شرحِ سِفرِ المُلوكِ. وملَكَ أمَصْيا ابنُهُ مكانَهُ.