18. The king and these leaders stopped worshiping in the Temple of the Lord. He is the God their ancestors obeyed. The king and the officers began to worship the Asherah idols and other idols. Because they did wrong, God was angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
19. The Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him. The prophets warned them, but the people refused to listen.
20. Then the Spirit of God entered Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not be successful. You have left the Lord. So the Lord has also left you.’”
21. But the king and his officers made plans against Zechariah. The king commanded them to kill Zechariah. So they threw stones at him in the Temple courtyard until he died.
22. King Joash did not remember Jehoiada’s kindness to him. So Joash killed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. Before Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you.”
23. At the end of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. Then they sent all the valuable things to their king in Damascus.
24. The Aramean army came with only a small group of men. But the Lord let them defeat a very large army from Judah. He did this because the people of Judah had left the Lord. He is the God their ancestors followed. So Joash was punished.
25. When the Arameans left, Joash was badly wounded. His own officers made plans against him. They did this because he had killed Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed Joash in his own bed. He died and was buried in Jerusalem. But he was not buried in the graves of the kings.
26. The officers who made plans against Joash were Jozabad and Jehozabad. Jozabad was the son of Shimeath, a woman from Ammon. And Jehozabad was the son of Shimrith, a woman from Moab.
27. The story of Joash’s sons, the great prophecies against him, and how he rebuilt the Temple of God are written down. They are in the book of the kings. Joash’s son Amaziah became king in his place.