Jehoash (Joash) Reigns over Judah

12 In the seventh year of Jehu, ^[a](A)Jehoash became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days that Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ Only ^(B)the high places did not end; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

The Temple to Be Repaired

⁴ Then Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred offerings ^(C)which is brought into the house of the Lord, in current money, both ^(D)the money of each man’s assessment and all the money ^[b]which anyone’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, ⁵ The priests are to take it for themselves, each from his ^[c]acquaintance; and they shall repair ^[d]damage to the house wherever ^[e]any damage is found.”

⁶ But it came about that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, ^(E)the priests had not repaired any damage to the house. ⁷ So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, “Why do you not repair damage to the house? Now then, you are not to take any more money from your ^[f]acquaintances, but give it up for the damage to the house.” ⁸ The priests then agreed that they would not take any more money from the people, nor would they ^[g]repair damage to the house.

⁹ Instead, ^(F)Jehoiada the priest ^[h]took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. ¹⁰ When they saw that there was a great amount of money in the chest, ^(G)the king’s scribe and the high priest went up and tied it up in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ And they handed the money which was assessed over to those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they ^[i]paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord; ¹² and ^(H)to the masons and the stonecutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the damage to the house of the Lord, and for everything that ^[j]was laid out for the house to repair it. ¹³ However ^(I)there were not made for the house of the Lord ^(J)silver cups, shears, bowls, trumpets, any receptacles of gold, or receptacles of silver from the money which was brought into the house of the Lord; ¹⁴ for they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of the Lord. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(K)they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hands they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, because they acted faithfully. ¹⁶ The ^(L)money from the guilt offerings and ^(M)the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; ^(N)it belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ Then ^(O)Hazael the king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it, and ^(P)Hazael ^[k]was intent on going up against Jerusalem. ¹⁸ So ^(Q)Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred offerings that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had consecrated, and ^(R)his own sacred offerings, and all the gold that was found among the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then he withdrew from Jerusalem.

Joash (Jehoash) Succeeded by Amaziah in Judah

¹⁹ Now as for the rest of the acts of Joash and everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁰ And ^(S)his servants rose up and formed a conspiracy; and they ^(T)struck and killed Joash at ^(U)the house of Millo as he was going down to Silla. ²¹ For Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of ^(V)Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son ^(W)Amaziah became king in his place.

Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

24 ^(A)Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba. ^2 (B)Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Faithless Priests

⁴ Now it came about after this that Joash ^[a]decided ^(C)to restore the house of the Lord. ⁵ He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all ^(D)Israel to ^[b]repair the house of your God annually, and you shall ^[c]do the work quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶ So 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 ^(E)the ^[d]contribution of Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the congregation of Israel, ^(F)for the tent of the testimony?” ⁷ For ^(G)the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God, and even ^[e]used the holy things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

Temple Repaired

⁸ So the king commanded, and ^(H)they made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord. ^9 (I)And they made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord ^(J)the ^[f]contribution commanded by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officers and all the people rejoiced, and they brought in their contribution and ^[g]dropped it into the chest until they had finished. ¹¹ It happened that whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officer by the Levites, and ^(K)they saw that the money was substantial, the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come and empty the chest, and pick it up and return it to its place. They did this daily and collected a large amount of money. ¹² The 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 repair the house of the Lord. ¹³ So the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ^[h]restored the house of God according to its ^[i]specifications and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When 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 offerings, 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.

¹⁵ Now Jehoiada ^[j]reached a good old age and he died; he was 130 years old at his death. ¹⁶ And they buried him ^(L)in the city of David with the kings, because he had done well in ^(M)Israel and ^[k]for God and His house.

¹⁷ But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. ¹⁸ And they abandoned ^(N)the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and ^(O)served the ^[l]Asherim and the idols; so ^(P)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. ¹⁹ Yet ^(Q)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada

^20 (R)Then the Spirit of God ^[m]covered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest like clothing; and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said, ‘^(S)Why do you break the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? ^(T)Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has also abandoned you.’” ²¹ So ^(U)they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him ^[n]to death in the courtyard of the house of the Lord. ²² So Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as Zechariah died he said, “May ^(V)the Lord see and ^[o]avenge!”

Aram Invades and Defeats Judah

²³ Now it happened at the turn of the year that ^(W)the army of the Arameans came up against Joash; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Indeed, the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet ^(X)the Lord handed a very great army over to them, ^(Y)because ^[p]Judah and Joash had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.

^25 (Z)When they left him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[q]son of Jehoiada the priest, and they murdered him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ Now these are the men who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ As to his sons and the many pronouncements against him and ^(AA)the ^[r]rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the ^[s](AB)treatise of the Book of the Kings. Then his son Amaziah became king in his place.