¹¹ “I regret^(A) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned^(B) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”^(C) Samuel was angry,^(D) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

² Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord^(A) all the years of Jehoiada the priest.

The Wickedness of Joash

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned^(A) the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols.^(B) Because of their guilt, God’s anger^(C) came on Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.^(D)

²⁰ Then the Spirit^(E) of God came on Zechariah^(F) son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper.^(G) Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken^(H) you.’”

²¹ But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned^(I) him to death^(J) in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.^{(K) 22} King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”^(L)

²⁰ “Again, when a righteous person turns^(A) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block^(B) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^(C)

²⁶ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.

¹⁸ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil,^(A) they will die for it.^(B)