2 Kings 12

1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.

In the seventh year of Jehu's rule, Jehoash became king; and he was ruling for forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

2 And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days he was instructed by Jehoiada the priest.

Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because he was guided by the teaching of Jehoiada the priest.

3 Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

But the high places were not taken away; the people went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.

4 Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house of the LORD.

And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the holy things, which comes into the house of the Lord, (the amount fixed for every man's payment, ) and all the money given by any man freely from the impulse of his heart,

5 Let every priest receive it from his constituency, and let it be used to repair any damage found in the temple.”

Let the priests take, every man from his friends and neighbours, to make good what is damaged in the house, wherever it is to be seen.

6 By the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, however, the priests had not yet repaired the damage to the temple.

But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not made good the damaged parts of the house.

7 So King Joash called Jehoiada and the other priests and said, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, therefore, take no more money from your constituency, but hand it over for the repair of the temple.”

Then King Jehoash sent for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, Why have you not made good what is damaged in the house? now take no more money from your neighbours, but give it for the building up of the house.

8 So the priests agreed that they would not receive money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

So the priests made an agreement to take no more money from the people, and not to make good what was damaged in the house.

9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the house of the LORD. There the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money brought into the house of the LORD.

But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and making a hole in the cover of it, put it by the altar, on the right side when one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put in it regularly all the money which was taken into the house of the Lord.

10 Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of the LORD, and tie it up in bags.

And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest came and put it in bags, noting the amount of all the money there was in the house of the Lord.

11 Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of the LORD, who in turn would pay those doing the work—the carpenters, builders,

And the money which was measured out they gave regularly to those who were responsible for overseeing the work, and these gave it in payment to the woodworkers and the builders who were working on the house of the Lord,

12 masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.

And to the wall-builders and the stone-cutters, and to get wood and cut stone for building up the broken parts of the house of the Lord, and for everything needed to put the house in good order.

13 However, the money brought into the house of the LORD was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of the LORD.

But the money was not used for making silver cups or scissors or basins or wind-instruments or any vessels of gold or silver for the house of the Lord;

14 Instead, it was paid to those doing the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.

But it was all given to the workmen who were building up the house.

15 No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay the workmen, because they acted with integrity.

And they did not get any statement of accounts from the men to whom the money was given for the workmen, for they made use of it with good faith.

16 The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.

The money of the offerings for error and the sin-offerings was not taken into the house of the Lord; it was the priests'.

17 At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.

Then Hazael, king of Aram, went up against Gath and took it; and his purpose was to go up to Jerusalem.

18 So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.

Then Jehoash, king of Judah, took all the holy things which Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had given to the Lord, together with the things he himself had given, and all the gold in the Temple store and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael, king of Aram; and he went away from Jerusalem.

19 As for the rest of the acts of Joash, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?

20 And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.

And his servants made a secret design and put Joash to death at the house of Millo on the way down to Silla.

21 His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.

And Jozacar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, came to him and put him to death; and they put him into the earth with his fathers in the town of David; and Amaziah his son became king in his place.