June 20th, 2006, Saturday of the 11th week in ordinary time.

A reading from the second book of Chronicles.

After the death of Jeho Yuda, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joach,

and the king then listened to them.

They forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers,

and began to serve the sacred Poles and the idols.

And because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Although prophets were sent to them to convert

them to the Lord, the people would not listen to their warnings. Then the Spirit of God possessed

Zechariah, son of Jehuahuda, the priest. He took his stand above the people and said to them,

God says, Why are you transgressing the Lord's commands? So that you cannot prosper? Because you

have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.

But they conspired against him, and at the king's order they stoned him to death,

in the court of the Lord's temple.

Thus King Joach was unmindful of the devotion showed him by Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, and slew his son.

And as Zechariah was dying, he said, may the Lord see an avenge.

At the turn of the year, a force of Arameans came up against Joach.

They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, did away with all the princes of the people, and sent

all their spoil to the King of Damascus.

Though the Arameen force came with few men, the Lord surrendered a very large force into their power, because Judah had abandoned

the Lord, the God of their fathers. So punishment was meted out to Joash. After the Aramines

had departed from him, leaving him in grievous suffering.

His servants conspired against him because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada, the priest.

...