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, the reign of Joash began; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.

2 And Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord, during all the days that Jehoiada, the priest, taught him.

Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the time, because Jehoiada the priest was instructing him.

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 still sacrificed and burned incense on 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:

Joash said to the priests, “All the money that is brought in as sacred offerings into the house of Yahweh, that money for which each person is assessed—whether it is the money collected in the census, or the money received from personal vows, or the money brought in by people motivated by Yahweh in their hearts to give—

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.”

the priests should receive the money from one of their treasurers and repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”

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

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash, the priests had not repaired anything in the temple.

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 Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and for the other priests; he said to them, “Why have you not repaired anything in the temple? Now take no more money from your taxpayers, but take what has been collected for repairs of the temple and give it to those who can make the repairs.”

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 consented to take no more money from the people and not repair the temple themselves.

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.

Instead, Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh. The priests who were guarding the temple entrance put into it all the money that was brought to the house of Yahweh.

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.

Whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest would come and put the money in bags and then count it, the money found in the temple of Yahweh.

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

They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of men who took care of the temple of Yahweh. They paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the temple of Yahweh,

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 masons and the stonecutters, for buying timber and cutting stone to repair the temple of Yahweh, and for all that was needed to be paid to repair it.

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 that was brought into the house of Yahweh did not pay to make for it any silver cups, lamp trimmers, basins, trumpets, or any gold or silver furnishing.

14 For it was given to those who were doing the work, so that the temple of the Lord might be repaired.

They gave this money to those who did the work of repairing the house of Yahweh.

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.

In addition, they did not require the money paid for repairs to be accounted for by the men who received it and paid it to the workmen, because these men were honest.

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.

But the money for the guilt offerings and the money for the sin offerings was not brought into the temple of Yahweh, because it belonged to 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 attacked and fought against Gath, and took it. Hazael then turned to attack 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.

Joash king of Judah took all the things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had set apart, and what he had set apart, and all the gold that was found in the storerooms of the houses of Yahweh and of the king and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then Hazael 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?

As for the other matters concerning Joash, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah?

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.

His servants arose and plotted together; they attacked Joash in Beth Millo, on the way that goes 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.

Jozabad son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, attacked him, and he died. They buried Joash with his ancestors in the city of David, and Amaziah, his son, became king in his place.