II Chronicles 24:25 · Bible study
2 Chronicles 24:25 Commentary: Retribution for Jehoiada's Blood
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
The death of Joash and burial outside royal tombs reveal the Chronicler's theme of divine retribution for apostasy and bloodshed.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The verse recounts Joash's assassination and dishonorable burial as retribution for murdering Jehoiada's son(s).
- Key words: 'conspired' (H7194 qashar), 'blood' (H1818 dam), 'buried' (H6912 qavar), 'graves of the kings' (H6913+ H4428).
- Main debate: Whether the Hebrew plural 'sons' is literal (multiple victims) or a rhetorical/copyist singular.
- Theological theme: Divine retributive justice and the shame of apostasy.
- Best use: A sobering warning that God sees injustice and responds, often through historical consequences.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
WEB World English Bible 2000
When they had departed from him (for they left him seriously wounded), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died. They buried him in David’s city, but they didn’t bury him in the tombs of the kings.
KJV King James Version 1769
And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And when they were departed from him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And in their going from him--for they left him with many diseases--his servants themselves have conspired against him, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slay him on his bed, and he dieth; and they bury him in the city of David, and have not buried him in the graves of the kings.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And when they had departed from him (for they left him in great diseases), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the sepulchres of the kings.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And departing they left him in great diseases: and his servants rose up against him, for revenge of the blood of the son of Joiada the priest, and they slew him in his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y yéndose de él los Siros, dejáronlo en muchas enfermedades; y conspiraron contra él sus siervos á causa de las sangres de los hijos de Joiada el sacerdote, é hiriéronle en su cama, y murió: y sepultáronle en la ciudad de David, mas no lo sepultaron en los sepulcros de los reyes.
E indo-se dele os sírios, deixaram-no em muitas enfermidades; e conspiraram contra ele seus servos a causa dos sangues dos filhos de Joiada o sacerdote, e feriram-lhe em sua cama, e morreu: e sepultaram-lhe na cidade de Davi, mas não o sepultaram nos sepulcros dos reis.
Lorsqu’ ils se furent éloignés de lui, après l’ avoir laissé dans de grandes souffrances, ses serviteurs conspirèrent contre lui à cause du sang des fils du sacrificateur Jehojada; ils le tuèrent sur son lit, et il mourut. On l’ enterra dans la ville de David, mais on ne l’ enterra pas dans les sépulcres des rois.
Und da sie von ihm zogen, ließen sie ihn in großer Krankheit zurück. Es machten aber seine Knechte einen Bund wider ihn um des Blutes willen der Kinder Jojadas, des Priesters, und erwürgten ihn auf seinem Bett, und er starb. Und man begrub ihn in der Stadt Davids, aber nicht in der Könige Gräbern.
En toen zij van hem getogen waren (want zij lieten hem in grote krankheden), maakten zijn knechten, om het bloed der zonen van den priester Jojada, een verbintenis tegen hem, en zij sloegen hem dood op zijn bed, dat hij stierf; en zij begroeven hem in de stad Davids, maar zij begroeven hem niet in de graven der koningen.
E quando questi si furon partiti da lui, lasciandolo in gravi sofferenze, i suoi servi ordirono contro di lui una congiura, perch’egli avea versato il sangue dei figliuoli del sacerdote Jehoiada, e lo uccisero nel suo letto. Così morì, e fu sepolto nella città di Davide, ma non nei sepolcri dei re.
A gdy odciągnęli od niego, zostawiwszy go w wielkich niemocach, sprzysięgli się przeciwko niemu słudzy jego dla krwi synów Jojady kapłana, i zabili go na łożu jego. I tak umarł, a pochowano go w mieście Dawidowem; ale go nie pochowano w grobach królewskich.
и когда они ушли от него, оставив его в тяжкой болезни, то составили против него заговор рабы его, за кровь сына Иодая священника, и убили его на постели его, и он умер. И похоронили его в городе Давидовом, но не похоронили его в царских гробницах.
亞蘭人離開 約阿施的時候， 他 患 重 病；臣僕 背叛 他，要報祭司 耶何耶大 兒子 流血之仇，殺他 在 床上，葬他 在大衛 城，只是不 葬 在列王 的墳墓裡。
And when they had gone away from him, (for he was broken with disease,) his servants made a secret design against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they put him to death on his bed; and they put his body into the earth in the town of David, but not in the resting-place of the kings.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Chronicles 24:25
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse functions as the Chronicler's verdict on King Joash: his assassination was divine retribution for the murder of Jehoiada's son(s). The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that the Chronicler adds a motive absent in 2 Kings 12:20, 21, explicitly tying the conspiracy 'for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest.' Gill's Exposition suggests the plural may indicate that more than one son was killed or that the plural stands for the singular for emphasis. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown observe that 'public opinion seems to have ascribed the disasters of his life and reign to that foul crime.' Keil and Delitzsch argue the plural is 'a rhetorical plural, which says nothing as to the number, but only brings out that Joash had brought blood-guiltiness upon himself.' The burial 'in the city of David, but they didn't bury him in the tombs of the kings' is widely read as a final dishonor, mirroring the fate of Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:20) and confirming God's rejection of Joash's kingship after his apostasy.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal plural: The Hebrew text reads 'sons' (plural); Gill and others suggest more than one son may have been killed, perhaps including Zechariah's brothers or supporters.
- Rhetorical plural: Keil and Delitzsch argue the plural is a rhetorical device to emphasize the gravity of the crime against Jehoiada's family, not to indicate multiple victims.
- Textual error: Keil and Delitzsch also note Berthold's suggestion that the plural is an orthographical error, perhaps caused by the preceding word 'blood'.
What is clear: Joash's death was a direct consequence of shedding the blood of Jehoiada's son(s), and his burial outside the royal tombs symbolized divine judgment and dishonor.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Number of sons of Jehoiada killed | The text stresses the heinousness of the bloodshed, which is the cause of Joash's downfall. | Some (Gill, Keil) argue the Hebrew plural 'sons' may be a rhetorical device or copyist error; others take it as literal that multiple sons were killed. |
| Motive for the conspiracy | Both Kings and Chronicles record Joash's assassination. | Kings mentions no motive; Chronicles explicitly links it to retribution for the blood of Jehoiada's son(s), reflecting the Chronicler's theological emphasis on immediate divine justice. |
| Significance of burial exclusion | Burial outside the royal tombs was a dishonor and indicated divine disfavor. | Some see it as a permanent rejection; others note that Joash was still buried in the city of David, suggesting a partial honor. Comparison with Jehoram (2 Chron 21:20) is debated regarding consistency of the Chronicler's standard. |
| Historical accuracy of the Chronicler's account | Both Kings and Chronicles describe the same event. | Critics argue the Chronicler added the retribution motive to fit his theological framework; conservative scholars see the motive as historically preserved in the temple records (cf. v.27 'commentary of the book of the kings'). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Joash's story begins in promise and ends in tragedy. Rescued as an infant by the high priest Jehoiada during Athaliah's purge, he was crowned king at age seven and for decades 'did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest' (2 Chronicles 24:2). But after Jehoiada's death, the princes of Judah led Joash into idolatry. When Jehoiada's son Zechariah prophesied judgment, the king ordered his stoning in the temple court (vv. 20, 21). The Chronicler reports Zechariah's dying words: 'May Yahweh look at it, and repay it' (v. 22).
The repayment came swiftly. Within a year, a small Syrian army defeated Judah's large force 'because they had forsaken Yahweh' (v. 24). The Syrians wounded Joash severely and left him. While he lay bedridden from 'many diseases' (the word machaluyim appears only here in the Old Testament, describing severe wounds), his own servants, named in verse 26 as sons of an Ammonite woman and a Moabite woman, conspired and killed him. Keil and Delitzsch note that the Chronicler selects details that show 'how God punished Joash for his defection from Him.'
The final mark of disgrace: he was buried 'in the city of David, but they didn't bury him in the tombs of the kings.' This exclusion was not unprecedented; the Chronicler earlier recorded the same fate for Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:20). By denying Joash a place with his ancestors, the community signaled that he had forfeited the honor of a faithful king. For the Chronicler's original readers, burial location was a visible sign of divine blessing or judgment. Verse 25 closes the account with a stark picture: the king who forgot God's kindness died in shame, abandoned by those he trusted.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note one significant variant. The Hebrew Masoretic Text reads 'sons' (בְּנֵי, benei) of Jehoiada, plural. However, the Septuagint (LXX) and Vulgate read 'son' (singular). The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges observes this discrepancy. Keil and Delitzsch suggest the plural may be an orthographical error caused by the preceding word 'blood' (דְּמֵי, demei), or a rhetorical plural to emphasize the gravity of the crime. The variant does not affect the overall meaning that Joash shed innocent blood and was punished for it.
Reception History
Throughout church history, this verse has been read primarily as a warning against ingratitude and apostasy. Reformation-era commentators such as Matthew Henry and John Wesley saw Joash's end as a clear instance of divine retribution: the blood of the prophet cried out, and God answered. The burial exclusion has been interpreted as a public sign of covenant-breaking. Some early Christian writers referenced Joash as a cautionary figure, one who began well but ended in shame. In liturgical contexts, the cry of Zechariah ('May Yahweh look at it and repay it') is sometimes paired with this verse to illustrate the biblical principle that God sees all injustice and acts in history. The passage has also been used in discussions about the honor due to God's servants: Jehoiada was buried among the kings; Joash was not. The contrast remains a powerful sermon on the fruits of faithfulness versus the wages of sin.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The kindness forgotten. Joash owed his life and throne to Jehoiada, yet after his death he turned to idolatry and murdered Jehoiada's son. Ingratitude blinds us to our debts.
- The blood required. The conspiracy is explicitly tied to 'the blood of the sons of Jehoiada.' God sees every injustice and, in his time, brings it to account.
- The honor stripped. Burial outside the royal tombs was a public statement: Joash no longer belonged among the kings. Sin erodes the legacy God intended.
Five-point outline
- Rise and fall. From child-king to apostate, the journey from dependence on God to self-reliance.
- The prophet's cry. Zechariah's dying prayer is the hinge: 'May Yahweh look at it, and repay it.'
- Invasion as verdict. The Syrian victory over Judah's larger army shows that victory depends on God, not numbers.
- Bedside murder. Joash, wounded and sick, is slain by his own trusted servants. Judgment came where he felt most safe.
- Excluded from the tombs. The final line, 'they didn't bury him in the tombs of the kings', is the Chronicler's epitaph.
Illustration hooks
- A leader who builds a reputation on someone else's wisdom, then discards that mentor's legacy. Ingratitude that eventually topples the ungrateful one.
- A student who cheats in a class, gets away with it for years, but then faces a consequence years later in a career that ruins their reputation, slow but sure.
- Being excluded from a family burial plot as a symbol of broken relationships and lost honor.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God sometimes wait years before bringing judgment on a person's sin?
- How does the story of Joash challenge our assumptions about loyalty and betrayal among those closest to us?
- What does it mean that Joash was 'buried in the city of David' but not with the kings? Is there a spiritual equivalent for us?
Leading a Discussion
This passage confronts us with the sobering reality that God's patience does not mean His justice is suspended. Joash's story invites us to examine our own willingness to forget God's kindness and drift into patterns that dishonor Him. As you work through these questions, keep the whole narrative of chapter 24 in view.
Discussion questions
- Observation: Read 2 Chronicles 24:17, 22. What led Joash from doing right to ordering the murder of Jehoiada's son?
- Observation: In verse 25, what specific reason does the Chronicler give for the conspiracy? How does this differ from the account in 2 Kings 12:20, 21?
- Interpretation: The text says the Syrian army came 'with a small company of men' yet defeated a very great army (v. 24). What does this teach about God's control over military outcomes?
- Interpretation: Why do you think the Chronicler highlights that Joash was killed 'on his bed'? What does the setting add to the shame of his death?
- Interpretation: Compare the burial of Jehoiada (v. 16, 'buried among the kings') with Joash's burial. What contrast does the Chronicler intend?
- Application: Joash benefited from Jehoiada's guidance but abandoned it after his death. Who are the spiritual influencers in your life, and how can you honor their legacy rather than forget it?
- Application: Zechariah's dying words are 'May Yahweh look at it, and repay it.' How does this prayer model a godly response to injustice? How might we apply it today?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| II Kings 12:20 | His servants arose and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. |
| II Kings 12:21 | For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in David’s city; and Amaziah his son reigned in his place. |
| II Kings 14:19 | They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. |
| II Kings 14:20 | They brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in David’s city. |
| II Chronicles 21:16 | Yahweh stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are beside the Ethiopians; |
| II Chronicles 21:18 | After all this Yahweh struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. |
| II Chronicles 21:20 | He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in David’s city, but not in the tombs of the kings. |
| II Chronicles 22:6 | He returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator highlights that the account in Kings omits any motive for the conspiracy against Joash, unlike Chronicles which cites the blood of Jehoiada’s sons. It also notes a textual variation: the Septuagint and Vulgate read “son” instead of “sons,” and Kings gives a different location for the killing.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes point out that Joash's own servants conspired against him and killed him in his bed specifically because of the blood of Jehoiada's children. His burial in the city of David but not in the royal tombs marks the dishonor that followed his crime.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that Joash's servants conspired against him specifically to avenge the blood of Jehoiada's sons, whom Joash had slain. The plural "sons" may indicate multiple victims or be used for the singular. They killed him while he lay wounded on his bed, and though buried in the city of David, he was not laid in the royal tombs.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jfb treats Joash's miserable end as direct retribution for the murder of Jehoiada's son. The public linked every disaster of his reign to that crime, and because the king had long lost his subjects' respect, no one expressed horror or sorrow at his assassination.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch observes that the Chronicler selects only the details that demonstrate God punishing Joash for turning away from Him. The Syrian army, though small, defeats Judah's large force, wounds Joash, and his own servants kill him in his bed, all because of the blood of Jehoiada's sons.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the devastating speed of Joash's fall once his godly mentor Jehoiada was gone. Within the same year, the king who owed his throne to Jehoiada not only abandoned the Lord but murdered Jehoiada's son. Henry emphasizes that judgment on Joash began with the very princes who led him into idolatry.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the phrase "son" suggests the murderers killed not only Zechariah but his brothers as well. He then distinguishes two purposes at work: the killers acted out of vengeance, yet God permitted the event for His own sovereign reasons.