2 Kings 12
Lexham English Bible
Jehoash/Joash Reigns in Judah
12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years, and the name of his mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 Jehoash did right in the eyes of Yahweh all of his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Only the high places were not removed; the people were still making sacrifices and offering incense on the high places.
Temple Repairs Planned
4 Jehoash said to the priests, “All of the money for the sacred things that is brought to the temple of Yahweh, the money taxed at its proper value for each person[a] and all of the money which comes upon the heart of a man to bring to the temple of Yahweh, 5 let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurers, and let them repair the breach of the temple for every place where damage is found.”
6 It happened in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash that the priests had not repaired the damage in the temple. 7 So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the priests, and he said to them, “Why are you not repairing the damage in the temple? Now, you shall not take money from your treasurers for the damage in the temple. You must provide it.” 8 So the priests agreed not to take money from the people and not to repair the damage to the temple.
9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a certain chest and bored a hole in its lid, and he put it beside the altar to the right as a man enters into the temple of Yahweh; then the priests who were keepers of the threshold would put there all of the money brought into the temple. 10 It happened that when they saw a great deal of money in the chest, the secretary of the king and the high priest would come up, put the money in bags, then count the money found in the temple of Yahweh. 11 They placed the money, which was weighed out, into the hands of the workers who were appointed over the temple of Yahweh, and they paid it to the skilled craftsmen of wood and to the builders working on the temple of Yahweh 12 and to the masons and the stonecutters, to buy timber and stones for hewing, in order to repair the damage of the temple of Yahweh, and for all who went to the temple to repair it. 13 Only, for the temple of Yahweh, there were not any silver basins, snuffers, bowls for drinking wine, trumpets, or any vessel of gold or silver from the money being brought to the temple of Yahweh. 14 For they gave that to all the workers, and they repaired the temple[b] of Yahweh with it. 15 They did not have to settle accounts with the men into whose hands they placed the money to give to the workers, for they were dealing honestly. 16 The money of the guilt offering and the money of the sin offering was not brought into the temple[c] of Yahweh, but were each for the priests.
Hazael Threatens Judah
17 At that time, Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it; then Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem. 18 Jehoash king of Judah took all of the holy objects that Jehoshaphat, Joram, and Ahaziah his ancestors,[d] the kings of Judah, had devoted, and all his holy objects and all of the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of Yahweh, and in the palace of the king, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, so that he went up from Jerusalem.
19 Now the remainder of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? 20 Then his servants arose and conspired and killed Joash in the house of the Millo as he was going down toward Silla. 21 Jozabad[e] the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and killed him, so they buried him with his ancestors[f] in the city of David. Then Amaziah his son became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 12:4 Literally “money passing over a man, the money of persons his proper value”
- 2 Kings 12:14 Or “house”
- 2 Kings 12:16 Or “house”
- 2 Kings 12:18 Or “fathers”
- 2 Kings 12:21 A number of Hebrew manuscripts read “Jozakar” here, a reading followed by many English versions. The Hebrew letters for K and B are very similar, as are the letters for R and D. Scribal error may account for the variant reading.
- 2 Kings 12:21 Or “fathers”
2 Kings 12
New Living Translation
Joash Repairs the Temple
12 [a]Joash[b] began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu’s reign in Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.
4 One day King Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as a sacred offering to the Lord’s Temple, whether it is a regular assessment, a payment of vows, or a voluntary gift. 5 Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple.”
6 But by the twenty-third year of Joash’s reign, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. 7 So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, “Why haven’t you repaired the Temple? Don’t use any more money for your own needs. From now on, it must all be spent on Temple repairs.” 8 So the priests agreed not to accept any more money from the people, and they also agreed to let others take responsibility for repairing the Temple.
9 Then Jehoiada the priest bored a hole in the lid of a large chest and set it on the right-hand side of the altar at the entrance of the Temple of the Lord. The priests guarding the entrance put all of the people’s contributions into the chest. 10 Whenever the chest became full, the court secretary and the high priest counted the money that had been brought to the Lord’s Temple and put it into bags. 11 Then they gave the money to the construction supervisors, who used it to pay the people working on the Lord’s Temple—the carpenters, the builders, 12 the masons, and the stonecutters. They also used the money to buy the timber and the finished stone needed for repairing the Lord’s Temple, and they paid any other expenses related to the Temple’s restoration.
13 The money brought to the Temple was not used for making silver bowls, lamp snuffers, basins, trumpets, or other articles of gold or silver for the Temple of the Lord. 14 It was paid to the workmen, who used it for the Temple repairs. 15 No accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors, because they were honest and trustworthy men. 16 However, the money that was contributed for guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the Lord’s Temple. It was given to the priests for their own use.
The End of Joash’s Reign
17 About this time King Hazael of Aram went to war against Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. 18 King Joash collected all the sacred objects that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the previous kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with what he himself had dedicated. He sent them all to Hazael, along with all the gold in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace. So Hazael called off his attack on Jerusalem.
19 The rest of the events in Joash’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.
20 Joash’s officers plotted against him and assassinated him at Beth-millo on the road to Silla. 21 The assassins were Jozacar[c] son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer—both trusted advisers. Joash was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Amaziah became the next king.
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