Mambo Joashi we Juda
(2 Bomambo 12:1-16)1 Joashi wakatangisa kubusa ali makole ali kutendeka, ngono wakabusa mu Jerusalema makole ali makumi manna (40). Zina la mmeyabe lakabe liyi Zibiya bezwagwa mu nzi we Bheerisheba. 2 Ngono Joashi kathama ndulamo mbeli kwa Yahwe mu tjibaka tjose tja Jehoyada we mpirisiti. 3 Jehoyada wakanshakila bakadzi bali babili ngono kabe ne bakololo ne bakololokadzi.
4 Shule kwa ikoku Joashi kapedza nkumbulo kuti unowolulwamisa Ng'umba ya Yahwe. 5 Ngono wakakubunganya bapirisiti ne Balevi kabadwa kati, “Yendani ku mizi mikulu ye Juda mukubunganye mari mu Baiziraela bose kuti towomusa Ng'umba ye Ndzimu wenyu gole ne gole. Bonani kuti molibilidza kuthama ikoku.” Koga Balevi bakanonoka. 6 Mambo bakadana Jehoyada ntungamili we bapirisiti ngono bakan'dwa bakati, “Ini usathama kuti Balevi badusise bathu be Juda ne be Jerusalema lukhetho gwakabigwa ndi Mushe nlanda wa Yahwe mbeli kwe gubungano le Iziraela gudusigwa nshasha we bushanganilo kene?”
7 Bakololo ba Athaliya nkadzi iwouje mbiimbi bakabe bapkhwanya bakangina mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu ngono bakashingisa zwija zwakayengemala bezwishingisa kuna bo Bhaale. 8 Ngono nge ndaulo ya mambo bakathama Bhokisi bakalibiga kuzhe kwe nkoba we Ng'umba ya Yahwe 9 Ngono bakazibisa bathu mu Juda ne mu Jerusalema kuti nthu mmwe ne mmwe wakafanila dusila Yahwe lukhetho gwakati Mushe nlanda we Ndzimu kabudza Baiziraela kuti gudusiwe tjibaka tjabakabe bali mu tjilambanyika. 10 Ikoku kukashathisa makulukota ne bathu bose ngono bakazhisa lukhetho gwabo bakagulashila mu bhokisi kuswikilila bapelela. 11 Ngono kwakabe kuti Balevi abayisa bhokisi le lukhetho ku makombgwa a mambo ngono bakabe bebona kuti labe ne mari manjinji, nkwalili wa mambo ne nshingi we mpirisiti nkulu banowobe bedusa kose kumu bhokisi bekolibgwiliza ku magalo alo. Bakabe be shinga ikoku tjibaka ne tjibaka ngono bekubunganya mari asi mashoma. 12 Ndizo mambo na Jehoyada bakapa batungamili be nshingo we Ng'umba ya Yahwe, bakatapa babezhi be mabgwe ne babezhi be mapulanka ne butale ne phangula kuti kumusiwe Ng'umba ya Yahwe. 13 Ngono bose koga bakabe beshinga nge buzhalo bakamusa Ng'umba ye Ndzimu kudza isala ili sekwa yakabe ili iko mukutanga yakasima. 14 Bakati bapedza bakatola mari akabe asala bakanoapa mambo na Jehoyada ngono nawo bakathama zwishingisiwa zwe Ng'umba ya Yahwe ne zwishingisiwa zwe nshingo we Ng'umba ya Yahwe ne zwinoshingisiwa mu zwibhayilo zwinopisiwa ne zwikutili ne zwimwe zwakathamwa nge golide ne siliva. Ngono mu bupenyu gwa Jehoyada zwibhayilo zwinopisiwa zwakabe zwipisiwa nge kusingapele mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe.
Mazwimisilo a Jehoyada anoshandugwa
15 Ngono Jehoyada kakwegula kabe ne makole manjinji ngono kafa, wakafa abe ne makole ali zana lina ali makumi matatu (130). 16 Ngono bakanombiganya ku nzi nkulu wa Dafite na bomambo bamwe ngoti wakabe ashinga zwakanaka mu Iziraela eshingila Ndzimu nenge Ng'umba ye Ndzimu.
17 Ngono kwakati Jehoyada asinofa makulukota e Juda kazha kuna Mambo Joashi ngono kabateedza. 18 Ngono bathu bakasiya kunamata mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu ya Yahwe, Ndzimu wa bobatategulu babo ngono bakatangisa kuthigamila midzimu, bethigamila ndzimukadzi Ashera. Ngono bushongola gwa Yahwe gukadelukila mu bathu be Juda ne Jerusalema ngekwe nlandu wabo. 19 Nenguba Yahwe bakatumila balebesambeli kuti babatjenjedze kuti ndizo bashandukile ku bali, betendeka nge kwabo koga bathu ibo bakasibateedze. 20 Ngono kudwapo Meya ye Ndzimu ikadelukila muna Zakhariya nkololo wa Jehoyada we mpirisiti ngono kama pakatuthumala mbeli kwe bathu ngono kati ku bali, “Ndzimu unobhuzwa kuti ini mutjuluka milayo ya Yahwe kunothama kuti musibhudilile kene? Ngono ngoti makafupatila Yahwe na Yahwe bamufupatila.” 21 Ngono bakalukila Zakhariya gwanga ngono nge ndaulo ya mambo bathu bakakikithidza Zakhariya nge mabgwe pa nsha we Ng'umba ye Ndzimu. 22 Saikoku Mambo Joashi wakabe atjikangang'wa kale ngekwe buthu gwa tate ba Zakhariya Jehoyada gwabakan'shingila ngono Zakhariya bakapelela bambulaya. Ngono Zakhariya wakati mukufa kukwe kaleba eti, “Atshene Ndzimu bangabona ngono babgwilizile.”
Bhelelo le mbuso wa Joashi
23 Ngono kwakati ku bupelo gwe gole babhayani be Basiriya bakamukila Joashi. Bakazha ku Juda ne Jerusalema ngono bakalobesa balauli bose ngono bakatapa thundu dzisishoma bedziyisa ku Damasiko. 24 Babhayani be Basiriya bakabe basimuni koga Yahwe bakathama kuti bakunde babhayani be Bajuta ngoti bathu bakabe bafupatila Yahwe Ndzimu wa bobatategulu babo. Nge zila iyeyo yakabe ili kuloba Joashi. 25 Ngono bakati bemilika pa nli bakansiya akakubala kwazo, balanda babe bakanlukila gwanga ngekwe lopa le nkololo wa Jehoyada we mpirisiti ngono bakambulaila pa bulawo gugwe. Ndizo kafa ngono bakambiganya mu nzi nkulu wa Dafite koga kasibiganyiwe ku zwikumbu zwa bomambo. 26 Ngono ibabo bakanlukila gwanga yakabe ili Zabadi nkololo we nkadzi we N'amoni Shimeyati na Jehozabadi nkololo we nkadzi we N'moabu Shimiriti. 27 Ndebeleko ye bakololo babe ne zwinjinji zwakalebgwa zwisakakwagwa nge kukwe nenge kumusa Ng'umba ye Ndzimu zwakakwagwa mu Tjeneso ye Lukwalo gwa Bomambo. Ngono Amaziya nkololo uwe kukabe iye unobusa.
King Joash of Judah
(2 Kings 12.1-16)1 Joash was only 7 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 40 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.
2 While Jehoiada the priest was alive, Joash obeyed the Lord by doing right. 3 Jehoiada even chose two women for Joash to marry so he could have a family.
4 Some time later, Joash decided it was time to repair the temple. 5 He called together the priests and Levites and said, “Go everywhere in Judah and collect the annual tax from the people. I want this done at once—we need that money to repair the temple.”
But the Levites were in no hurry to follow the king's orders. 6 So he sent for Jehoiada the high priest and asked, “Why didn't you send the Levites to collect the taxes? The Lord's servant Moses and the people agreed long ago that this tax would be collected and used to pay for the upkeep of the sacred tent. 7 And now we need it to repair the temple because the sons of that evil woman Athaliah came in and wrecked it. They even used some of the sacred objects to worship the god Baal.”
8 Joash gave orders for a wooden box to be made and had it placed outside, near the gate of the temple. 9 He then sent letters everywhere in Judah and Jerusalem, asking everyone to bring their taxes to the temple, just as Moses had required their ancestors to do.
10 The people and their leaders agreed, and they brought their money to Jerusalem and placed it in the box. 11 Each day, after the Levites took the box into the temple, the king's secretary and the high priest's assistant would dump out the money and count it. Then the empty box would be taken back outside.
This happened day after day, and soon a large amount of money was collected. 12 Joash and Jehoiada turned the money over to the men who were supervising the repairs to the temple. They used the money to hire stonecutters, carpenters, and experts in working with iron and bronze.
13 These workers went right to work repairing the temple, and when they were finished, it looked as good as new. 14 They did not use all the tax money for the repairs, so the rest of it was handed over to Joash and Jehoiada, who then used it to make dishes and other gold and silver objects for the temple.
Sacrifices to please the Lord were offered regularly in the temple for as long as Jehoiada lived. 15 He died at the ripe old age of 130 years, 16 and he was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem, because he had done so much good for the people of Israel, for God, and for the temple.
Joash Turns Away from the Lord
17 After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted. 18 The people of Judah soon stopped worshiping in the temple of the Lord God and started worshiping idols and the symbols of the goddess Asherah. These sinful things made the Lord God angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, 19 but he still sent prophets who warned them to turn back to him. The people refused to listen.
20 God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: “Why are you disobeying me and my laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you.”
21-22 King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “I pray that the Lord will see this and punish all of you.”
Joash Is Killed
23 In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all of the nation's leaders. They collected everything of value that belonged to the people and took it back to their king in Damascus. 24 The Syrian army was very small, but the Lord let them defeat Judah's large army, because he was punishing Joash and the people of Judah for turning away from him.
25-26 Joash was severely wounded during the battle, and as soon as the Syrians left Judah, two of his officials, Zabad and Jehozabad, decided to revenge the death of Zechariah. They plotted and killed Joash while he was in bed, recovering from his wounds. Joash was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. 27 The History of the Kings also tells more about the sons of Joash, what the prophets said about him, and how he repaired the temple. Amaziah son of Joash became king after his father's death.