2 Kings 12

12¹In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king and reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, who was from Beer-sheba. ^z2Throughout the time Jehoiada ^athe priest instructed ^bhim, Joash did what was right in the Lord’s sight. ^c3Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ^d

Repairing the Temple

⁴Then ^eJoash said to the priests, “All the dedicated money brought to the Lord’s temple, ^fcensus money, ^gmoney from vows, ^hand all money voluntarily given ⁱfor the Lord’s temple, ⁵each priest is to take from his assessor ^jand repair whatever damage to the temple is found.” ^kl

⁶But by the twenty-third year ^mof the reign of King Joash, the priests had not repaired the damage ⁿto the temple. ^o7So King Joash called Jehoiada ^pthe priest and the other priests and said, “Why haven’t you repaired the temple’s damage? Since you haven’t, don’t take any money from your assessors; instead, hand it over for the repair of the temple.” ⁸So the priests agreed they would not take money from the people and they would not repair the temple’s damage.

⁹Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, ^qbored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the Lord’s temple; in it the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money brought into the Lord’s temple. ^r10Whenever they saw there was a large amount of money in the chest, the king’s secretary ^sand the high priest would go to the Lord’s temple and count the money found there and tie it up in bags. ^t11Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those doing the work—those who oversaw the Lord’s temple. They in turn would pay it out to those working on the Lord’s temple—the carpenters, the builders, ¹²the masons, and the stonecutters—and would use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple ^uand for all spending for temple repairs.

¹³However, no silver bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver ^vwere made for the Lord’s temple from the money brought into the temple. ¹⁴Instead, it was given to those doing the work, and they repaired the Lord’s temple with it. ¹⁵No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay those doing the work, since they worked with integrity. ^w16The money from the restitution offering and the sin offering was not brought to the Lord’s temple since it belonged to the priests. ^x

Aramean Invasion of Judah

¹⁷At that time Hazael ^yking of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he planned to attack Jerusalem. ^z18So King Joash of Judah took all the consecrated items that his ancestors—Judah’s kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah—had consecrated, along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the king’s palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. ^aThen Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.

Joash Assassinated

¹⁹The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. ^b20Joash’s servants conspired against him and killed him ^cat Beth-millo ^don the road that goes down to Silla. ²¹His servants Jozabad ^eson of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. ^fThen they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Amaziah became king in his place. ^g