12 ^[a]Joash began to rule in Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel, and he ruled for 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. ² Joash did what Yahweh considered right, as long as the priest Jehoiada instructed him. ³ But the illegal places of worship weren’t torn down. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at these worship sites.

⁴ Joash told the priests, “Collect all the holy contributions that are brought into Yahweh’s temple—the money each person is currently required to bring and all the money brought voluntarily to Yahweh’s temple. ⁵ Each of the priests should receive it from the donors and use it to make repairs on the temple where they are needed.”

⁶ But by Joash’s twenty-third year as king, the priests still had not repaired the temple. ⁷ So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage in the temple? Don’t take any more money from the donors for your own use. Instead, use it to make repairs on the temple.” ⁸ The priests agreed neither to receive money from the people for personal use nor to be responsible for repairing the temple.

⁹ Then the priest Jehoiada took a box, drilled a hole in its lid, and put it at the right side of the altar as one comes into Yahweh’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance put the money that was brought to Yahweh’s temple in the box. ¹⁰ Whenever they saw a lot of money in the box, the king’s scribe and the chief priest would collect and count the money that was donated in Yahweh’s temple. ¹¹ Then they would give the money that had been weighed to the men who had been appointed to work on Yahweh’s temple. They used it to pay the carpenters, builders, ¹² masons, and stonecutters. They also used it to buy wood and cut stones to make repairs on Yahweh’s temple and to buy anything else that they needed for the temple repairs. ¹³ But no silver bowls, snuffers, dishes, trumpets, or any other gold and silver utensils were made for Yahweh’s temple with the money that was brought. ¹⁴ Instead, the money was given to the workmen, and they used it to repair the temple. ¹⁵ They didn’t require the men who were entrusted with the money for the workers to give an account, because they were honest people. ¹⁶ The money from the guilt offerings and the offerings for sin was not brought into Yahweh’s temple. It belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ At this time King Hazael of Aram fought against Gath and conquered it. He was also determined to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁸ So King Joash of Judah took all the gifts his ancestors Kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah of Judah, had dedicated to the Lord, the things he had dedicated to the Lord, and all the gold that could be found in the storerooms of Yahweh’s temple and the royal palace. He sent these things to King Hazael of Aram, who called off the attack on Jerusalem.

King Joash Is Assassinated^(A)

¹⁹ Isn’t everything else about Joash—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ His own officials plotted against him and killed him at Beth Millo on the road that goes down to Silla. ²¹ Joash’s officials Jozacar, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer, executed him. They buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.