2 Chronicles 24:1–14

Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

^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.

^2aJoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

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

Faithless Priests

⁴Now it came about after this that Joash ¹decided ^ato restore the house of the Lord.

⁵He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect 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 summoned 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 the Lord 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 the Lord for the Baals.

Temple Repaired

⁸So the king commanded, and ^athey made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord.

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

¹⁰All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought in their levies and ¹dropped them into the chest until they had finished.

¹¹It came about whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by 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.

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

¹³So the workmen 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 finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and the burnt offering, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.