2 Chronicles 24:22 describes King Joash turning his back on the man who had saved and raised him, and then, as he dies, calling on the LORD to see what he has done and repay it. The verse is a sober account of ingratitude and violence, not a promise of comfort, and it stands as a warning about what happens when a leader forgets loyalty and turns on the good people around him. The narrator of Chronicles is describing a king who had the kindness of Jehoiada the priest behind him and chose to kill Jehoiada’s own son instead.
Thus Joash the king didn’t remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, “May the LORD look at it, and repay it.”
2 Chronicles 24:22 (WEB)
What 2 Chronicles 24:22 Means
The verse opens with Joash forgetting the kindness Jehoiada had shown him. Jehoiada had hidden the young boy from the murderous queen Athaliah, crowned him, and guided his early reign, so the debt was real and personal. The word “forgot” here does not mean a simple lapse of memory. It describes a choice to set aside what was owed because it became inconvenient to remember it.
The verse then says Joash had Jehoiada’s son Zechariah killed. Chronicles has just told us that Zechariah spoke God’s warning to the people about their idolatry, and the king had him stoned in the temple courts. The action is violent and public, and it shows where Joash’s loyalty had gone: to the crowd and to his own standing, not to the LORD or to the family that had made him king.
Finally, as Joash dies, he says, “May the LORD look at it, and repay it.” This is not a prayer for mercy or a confession. It is a call for justice against Zechariah’s death, and it is answered in the verses that follow, where the Syrians defeat Judah and the king is later murdered by his own servants. The verse does not promise that God will always act this quickly, but it shows that the Chronicler believed God sees such deeds and does not let them pass.
The Context of 2 Chronicles 24:22
The book of 2 Chronicles was written after the exile and retells the history of Judah from the reign of Solomon onward. Its author is traditionally identified as Ezra, though the book itself does not name him, and its first readers were the Jewish community rebuilding life in Jerusalem. They needed to understand why the kingdom had fallen, and Chronicles answers by showing again and again that faithfulness to the LORD brought blessing and unfaithfulness brought judgment.
The verses just before this one, 2 Chronicles 24:19 to 24:21, show prophets sent to call the people back and a rejected warning from Zechariah. Verses 23 to 25 then describe the Syrian invasion and Joash’s death at the hands of his servants. Read in that setting, verse 22 is the moment where the king’s ingratitude becomes an open crime, and it explains why the disaster that follows is presented as a consequence rather than bad luck.
Key Phrases in 2 Chronicles 24:22
Psalm 94:1-3
1 The LORD, you God to whom vengeance belongs, you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out. 2 Rise up, you judge of the earth. Pay back the proud what they deserve. 3 The LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?
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This psalm cries out to God, the one who avenges, asking how long the wicked will triumph. It parallels Joash’s dying plea by showing the same confidence that the LORD sees injustice and will act, and it gives words to anyone who has suffered at the hands of those they once trusted.
Genesis 40:23
Yet the chief cup bearer didn’t remember Joseph, but forgot him.
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Here a royal cupbearer forgets the kindness of Joseph, the man who interpreted his dream and asked to be remembered. The verse shows the same human tendency to forget those who helped us in our need, and it prompts reflection on how gratitude is both easily lost and deeply valued by God.
A Short Prayer From 2 Chronicles 24:22
Lord, you see every act of kindness and every act of betrayal, and nothing done in secret escapes your eyes. Keep my memory faithful toward the people who have helped me, and guard my heart from turning cold when I no longer need them. Where I have been slow to honor those who served me or spoke truth to me, forgive me and teach me to repay good with gratitude. Make me a person who remembers what was given and who trusts you to judge rightly. Amen.
