17 After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted.
18 Straight away, the people of Judah stopped worshipping in the temple of the Lord God, and they started worshipping 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.”
23 In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all 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.