2 Kings 12–19

In the seventh year of Jehu ^aJehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of ^bBeer-sheba. ²And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³But ^cthe high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. ⁴And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things ^dthat is brought into the house of the Lord, even ^ethe money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that ^fcometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the Lord, ⁵let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them ^grepair the breaches of the house, ^hwheresoever any breach shall be found. ⁶But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash ⁱthe priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. ⁷Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. ⁸And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. ⁹But Jehoiada the priest took ^ka chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. ¹⁰And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the ^lhigh priest came up, and they put up ^min bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. ¹¹And they gave the money, being told, ⁿinto the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the Lord, ¹²ⁿand to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. ¹³Howbeit ^othere were not made for the house of the Lord ^pbowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord: ¹⁴but they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the Lord. ¹⁵Moreover ^qthey reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. ¹⁶The ^rtrespass money and ^ssin money was not brought into the house of the Lord: ^tit was the priests’.

¹⁷Then ^uHazael king of Syria went up, and fought against ^xGath, and took it: and Hazael ^yset his face to go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁸And Jehoash king of Judah ^ztook all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicate, and ^ahis own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and ^bhe went away from Jerusalem. ¹⁹And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁰And ^chis servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to ^dSilla. ²¹For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

XIII.In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. ²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^awhich made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. ³And ^bthe anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of ^cHazael king of Syria, and into the hand of ^dBen-hadad the son of Hazael, ^eall their days. ⁴And Jehoahaz ^fbesought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for ^ghe saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. ⁵(^hAnd the Lord gave Israel a ⁱsaviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in ^ktheir tents, as beforetime. ⁶Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, ^awho made Israel sin, but walked therein: and ^lthere remained the grove also in Samaria.) ⁷Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust ^mby threshing. ⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁹And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

¹⁰In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. ¹¹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^awho made Israel sin: but he walked therein. ¹²ⁿAnd the rest of the acts of Joash, and ^oall that he did, and his might ^pwherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ¹³And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

¹⁴Now ^qElisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O ^rmy father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. ¹⁵And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. ¹⁶And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. ¹⁷And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in ^sAphek, till thou have consumed them. ¹⁸And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. ¹⁹And ^tthe man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but ^uthrice.²⁰And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the ^wMoabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. ²¹And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, ^xhe revived, and stood up on his feet.

²²But ^yHazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ^23zAnd the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and ^ahad respect unto them, because of his covenant with ^bAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. ²⁴So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. ²⁵And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. ^cThree times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

XIV.In ^athe second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned ^bAmaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. ²He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ³And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. ^4cHowbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places. ⁵And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants ^dwhich had slain the king his father. ⁶But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, ^eThe fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. ^7fHe slew of Edom in ^gthe valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it ^hJoktheel unto this day.

⁸ⁱThen Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, ^jlet us look one another in the face. ⁹And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, ^kThe thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the ^lcedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. ¹⁰Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and ^mthine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou ⁿmeddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? ¹¹But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at ^oBeth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. ¹²And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they ^pfled every man to their tents. ¹³And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at ^oBeth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall…