2 Chronicles 24
Open in the reader1He-Who-Is-Strong was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Foundation-of-Peace forty years. His mother’s name was Gazelle; she was from Well-of-Oath.
2And He-Who-Is-Strong did what was right in the eyes of He-Who-Is all the days of He-Who-Is-Knows the priest.
3He-Who-Is-Knows took for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.
4Some time later, He-Who-Is-Strong set his heart on repairing the house of He-Who-Is.
5So he gathered the priests and Joined-Ones and said, “Go out to the cities of Praised and collect the money due annually from all Strives-with-God, to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly.” The Levites, however , did not make haste.
6So the king called He-Who-Is-Knows the high priest and said, “Why have you not required the Joined-Ones to bring from Praised and Foundation-of-Peace the tax imposed by Drawn-Out the servant of He-Who-Is and by the assembly of Strives-with-God for the Tent of the Testimony?”
7For the sons of that wicked woman He-Who-Is-Has-Constrained had broken into the house of God and had even used the sacred objects of the house of He-Who-Is for The-Ruler.
8At the king’s command a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the house of He-Who-Is.
9And a proclamation was issued in Praised and Foundation-of-Peace that they were to bring to He-Who-Is the tax imposed by Drawn-Out the servant of God on Strives-with-God in the wilderness.
10All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought their contributions, and they dropped them in the chest until it was full.
11Whenever the chest was brought by the Joined-Ones to the king’s overseers and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal scribe and the officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this daily and gathered the money in abundance.
12Then the king and He-Who-Is-Knows would give the money to those who supervised the labor on the house of He-Who-Is to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of He-Who-Is, as well as workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of He-Who-Is.
13So the workmen labored, and in their hands the repair work progressed. They restored the house of God according to its specifications, and they reinforced it.
14When they were finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and He-Who-Is-Knows, and with it were made articles for the house of He-Who-Is—utensils for the service and for the burnt offerings, dishes, and other objects of gold and silver. Throughout the days of He-Who-Is-Knows, burnt offerings were presented regularly in the house of He-Who-Is.
15When He-Who-Is-Knows was old and full of years, he died at the age of 130.
16And He-Who-Is-Knows was buried with the kings in the City of Beloved, because he had done what was good in Strives-with-God for God and His temple.
17After the death of He-Who-Is-Knows, however, the officials of Praised came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them.
18They abandoned the house of He-Who-Is, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came upon Praised and Foundation-of-Peace for this guilt of theirs.
19Nevertheless, He-Who-Is sent prophets to bring the people back to Him and to testify against them, but they would not listen.
20Then the Spirit of God came upon He-Who-Is-Remembers son of He-Who-Is-Knows the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of He-Who-Is so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken He-Who-Is, He has forsaken you.’”
21But they conspired against He-Who-Is-Remembers, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of He-Who-Is.
22Thus King He-Who-Is-Strong failed to remember the kindness that He-Who-Is-Remembers’s father He-Who-Is-Knows had extended to him. Instead, He-Who-Is-Strong killed He-Who-Is-Knows’s son. As he lay dying, He-Who-Is-Remembers said, “May He-Who-Is see this and call you to account.”
23In the spring, the army of Highland went to war against He-Who-Is-Has-Aided. They entered Praised and Foundation-of-Peace and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.
24Although the child of Highland army had come with only a few men, He-Who-Is delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Praised had forsaken He-Who-Is, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on He-Who-Is-Strong.
25And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left He-Who-Is-Has-Aided severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of He-Who-Is-Knows the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of Beloved, but not in the tombs of the kings.
26Those who conspired against He-Who-Is-Has-Aided were Gift son of Heard the Ammonitess and He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed son of Shimrith the From-the-Father-One.
27The accounts of the sons of He-Who-Is-Has-Aided and the many pronouncements about him, and of the restoration of the house of God, are indeed written in the Treatise of the Book of the Kings. And his son He-Who-Is-Strong reigned in his place.