2 Kings 12

1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash reigned. And he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Zebiah 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 Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord, during all the days that Jehoiada, the priest, taught him.

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 Yet still he did not take away the high places. For the people were still immolating, and burning incense, in the high places.

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

4 And Jehoash said to the priests: “All of the money for the holy things, which has been brought into the temple of the Lord from those who pass by, which is offered for the price of a soul, and which they bring into the temple of the Lord willingly, from their own free heart:

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 the priests, according to their ranks, take and use it in order to repair the surfaces of the house, wherever they see anything in need of repair.”

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 And yet, even until the twenty-third year of king Jehoash, the priests did not repair the surfaces of the temple.

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

7 And king Jehoash called the high priest, Jehoiada, and the priests, saying to them: “Why have you not repaired the surfaces of the temple? Therefore, you may no longer accept money according to your ranks. Instead, return it in order that the temple may be repaired.”

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 And so the priests were prohibited from accepting any more money from the people to repair the surfaces of the house.

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 And the high priest, Jehoiada, took a certain chest, and he opened a hole in the top, and he placed it beside the altar, to the right of those who were entering the house of the Lord. And the priests who kept the doors put all the money in it which was being brought into the temple 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 And when they saw that there was a great amount of money in the chest, the scribe of the king and the high priest went up and poured it out. And they counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord.

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 And they gave it out, by number and measure, to the hands of those who were over the masons of the house of the Lord. And they weighed it out to the carpenters and masons, to those who were working in the house of the Lord

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 and restoring the surfaces, and to those who were cutting stones, and buying timber and stones to be cut, so that the repairs to the house of the Lord might be finished: for all that was needed toward the expenses in order to strengthen the house.

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 Yet truly, from the same money, they did not make for the temple of the Lord water pitchers, or small hooks, or censers, or trumpets, or any vessel of gold or silver, from the money that was brought into the temple 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 For it was given to those who were doing the work, so that the temple of the Lord might be repaired.

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

15 And they did not ration the money to the men who received it in order to distribute it to the artisans. Instead, they bestowed it with faith.

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 Yet truly, the money for offenses and the money for sins, they did not bring into the temple of the Lord, since it was for 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 Then Hazael, the king of Syria, ascended and fought against Gath, and he captured it. And he directed his face, so that he might ascend against Jerusalem.

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

18 For this reason, Jehoash, the king of Judah, took all the sanctified things, which Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, the kings of Judah, had consecrated and which he himself had offered, and all the silver that could be found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and in the palace of the king, and he sent it to Hazael, the king of Syria. And so he 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 Now the rest of the words of Jehoash, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days 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 Then his servants rose up and conspired among themselves. And they struck down Jehoash, at the house of Millo, on the descent of 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 For Jozacar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah, his son, 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.