2 Chronicles 24:1–14

Joash Reigns over Judah

^1aJoash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba.

^2aAnd Joash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³And Jehoiada took up two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

The Levites Did Not Act Quickly

⁴Now it happened afterwards, that Joash ¹had in his heart ^ato restore the house of Yahweh.

⁵And he gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all ^aIsrael to ¹repair the house of your God ²annually, and you shall do the matter quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly.

⁶So the king called for Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem ^athe levy fixed by Moses the servant of Yahweh on the congregation of Israel ^bfor the tent of the testimony?”

⁷For ^athe sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and even ¹used the holy things of the house of Yahweh for the Baals.

The House of Yahweh Restored

⁸So the king said the word, and ^athey made a chest and put it outside by the gate of the house of Yahweh.

^9aAnd they ¹made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to Yahweh ^bthe levy fixed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰And all the officials and all the people were glad and brought in their levies and ¹dropped them into the chest until they had ²finished.

¹¹Now it happened that whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by the hand of the Levites, and when ^athey saw that there was much money, then the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, take it, and return it to its place. Thus they did daily and collected much money.

¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh; and they hired masons and ¹carpenters to restore the house of Yahweh, and also craftsmen in iron and bronze to ²repair the house of Yahweh.

¹³So those who did the work labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ¹restored the house of God ²according to its specifications and strengthened it.

¹⁴When they had completed, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of Yahweh, utensils for the ministry and the burnt offering, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they were offering burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh continually all the days of Jehoiada.