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12 In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of Jehovah, [a]in current money, [b]the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of Jehovah, let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore take no more money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. And the priests consented that they should take no more money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.

But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of Jehovah: and the priests that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah. 10 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s [c]scribe and the high priest came up, and they [d]put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Jehovah. 11 And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah: and they [e]paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, that wrought upon the house of Jehovah, 12 and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that [f]was laid out for the house to repair it. 13 But there were not made for the house of Jehovah cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah; 14 for they gave that to them that did the work, and repaired therewith the house of Jehovah. 15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully. 16 The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Jehovah: it was the priests’.

17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.

19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goeth down to Silla. 21 For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

13 In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, [g]continually. And Jehoahaz besought Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkened unto him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them. (And Jehovah gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin, but [h]walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.) For he left not to Jehoahaz of the people save fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust [i]in threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; but he walked therein. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 13 And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died: and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over [j]him, and said, My father, my father, the [k]chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! 15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows; and he took unto him bow and arrows. 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow; and he put his hand upon it. And Elisha laid his hands upon the king’s hands. 17 And he said, Open the window eastward; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot; and he shot. And he said, Jehovah’s arrow of [l]victory, even the arrow of [m]victory [n]over Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 18 And he said, Take the arrows; and he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground; and he smote thrice, and stayed. 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times: then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. 21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and [o]as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

22 And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But Jehovah was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence [p]as yet. 24 And Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. 25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash smite him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 12:4 Or, even the money of every one that passeth the numbering. See Ex. 30:13.
  2. 2 Kings 12:4 Hebrew each man the money of the souls of his estimation. See Lev. 27:2.
  3. 2 Kings 12:10 Or, secretary
  4. 2 Kings 12:10 Hebrew bound up and etc.
  5. 2 Kings 12:11 Hebrew brought it forth.
  6. 2 Kings 12:12 Hebrew went forth.
  7. 2 Kings 13:3 Hebrew all the days.
  8. 2 Kings 13:6 Hebrew he walked.
  9. 2 Kings 13:7 Or, to trample on
  10. 2 Kings 13:14 Hebrew his face.
  11. 2 Kings 13:14 Or, chariot
  12. 2 Kings 13:17 Hebrew salvation.
  13. 2 Kings 13:17 Hebrew salvation.
  14. 2 Kings 13:17 Or, against
  15. 2 Kings 13:21 Hebrew when the man went and touched.
  16. 2 Kings 13:23 Hebrew until now.

Joash Repairs the Temple(A)

12 [a]In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash[b](B) became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. Joash did what was right(C) in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places,(D) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

Joash said to the priests, “Collect(E) all the money that is brought as sacred offerings(F) to the temple of the Lord—the money collected in the census,(G) the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily(H) to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair(I) whatever damage is found in the temple.”

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.” The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance(J) put into the chest all the money(K) that was brought to the temple of the Lord. 10 Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary(L) and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord and put it into bags. 11 When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord—the carpenters and builders, 12 the masons and stonecutters.(M) They purchased timber and blocks of dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.

13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold(N) or silver for the temple of the Lord; 14 it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. 15 They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.(O) 16 The money from the guilt offerings(P) and sin offerings[c](Q) was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged(R) to the priests.

17 About this time Hazael(S) king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. 18 But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his predecessors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and of the royal palace, and he sent(T) them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew(U) from Jerusalem.

19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20 His officials(V) conspired against him and assassinated(W) him at Beth Millo,(X) on the road down to Silla. 21 The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoahaz King of Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did evil(Y) in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. So the Lord’s anger(Z) burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power(AA) of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad(AB) his son.

Then Jehoahaz sought(AC) the Lord’s favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw(AD) how severely the king of Aram was oppressing(AE) Israel. The Lord provided a deliverer(AF) for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. But they did not turn away from the sins(AG) of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole[d](AH) remained standing in Samaria.

Nothing had been left(AI) of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust(AJ) at threshing time.

As for the other events of the reign of Jehoahaz, all he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoash[e] his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoash King of Israel

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.

12 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoash, all he did and his achievements, including his war against Amaziah(AK) king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals(AL) of the kings of Israel? 13 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam(AM) succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots(AN) and horsemen of Israel!”

15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,”(AO) and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!”(AP) Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”(AQ)

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”(AR)

20 Elisha died and was buried.

Now Moabite raiders(AS) used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life(AT) and stood up on his feet.

22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed(AU) Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant(AV) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy(AW) them or banish them from his presence.(AX)

24 Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad(AY) his son succeeded him as king. 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Three times(AZ) Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered(BA) the Israelite towns.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-21 is numbered 12:2-22.
  2. 2 Kings 12:1 Hebrew Jehoash, a variant of Joash; also in verses 2, 4, 6, 7 and 18
  3. 2 Kings 12:16 Or purification offerings
  4. 2 Kings 13:6 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Kings
  5. 2 Kings 13:9 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash; also in verses 12-14 and 25