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12 (12:2) In Jehu’s seventh year Jehoash became king; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. Jehoash did what the Lord approved[a] all his days when[b] Jehoiada the priest taught him. But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal[c] all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax,[d] the silver received from those who have made vows,[e] and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple.[f] The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.”[g]

By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple. So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.”[h] The priests agreed[i] not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs.[j]

Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of[k] the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple. 10 When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary[l] and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up.[m] 11 They would then hand over[n] the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen[o] assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the Lord’s temple, 12 as well as masons and stonecutters. They bought wood and chiseled stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple and also paid for all the other expenses.[p] 13 The silver brought to the Lord’s temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements. 14 It was handed over[q] to the foremen who used it to repair the Lord’s temple. 15 They did not audit the treasurers who disbursed[r] the funds to the foremen, for they were honest.[s] 16 (The silver collected in conjunction with reparation offerings and sin offerings was not brought to the Lord’s temple; it belonged to the priests.)

17 At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked[t] Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem.[u] 18 King Jehoash of Judah collected all the sacred items that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had consecrated, as well as his own sacred items and all the gold that could be found in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He sent it all[v] to King Hazael of Syria, who then withdrew[w] from Jerusalem.

19 The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[x] 20 His servants conspired against him[y] and murdered Joash at Beth Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla.[z] 21 His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him.[aa] He was buried[ab] with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Amaziah replaced him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 12:2 tn Heb “what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”
  2. 2 Kings 12:2 tn The MT reads יָמָיו אֲשֶׁר (yamayv ʾasher, “all his days which…”). The LXX says “all the days which Jehoiada the priest enlightened him,” implying either יָמִים (yamim, “days”) or יְמֵי (yeme, “days of”), without the pronominal suffix. Lev 13:46 demonstrates that יְמֵי can be in construct with an אֲשֶׁר clause, but an אֲשֶׁר clause can also follow יוֹם (yom “day”) when it has a pronominal suffix. In either case the אֲשֶׁר clause restricts the time period that יוֹם describes. Therefore this verse does not contradict 2 Chr 24:2 which limits its praise of the king to “all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”
  3. 2 Kings 12:4 tn The words “I place at your disposal” are added in the translation for clarification.
  4. 2 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “the silver of passing over a man.” The precise meaning of the phrase is debated, but עָבַר (ʿavar), “pass over,” probably refers here to counting, suggesting the reference is to a census conducted for taxation purposes. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.
  5. 2 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “the silver of persons, his valuation.” The precise meaning of the phrase is uncertain, but parallels in Lev 27 suggest that personal vows are referred to here. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.
  6. 2 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring to the house of the Lord.”
  7. 2 Kings 12:5 tn Heb “Let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurer, and let them repair the damage of the temple, with respect to all the damage that is found there.” The word מַכָּר (makar), translated here “treasurer,” occurs only in this passage. Some suggest it means “merchant” or “benefactor.” Its usage in Ugaritic texts, where it appears in a list of temple officials, suggests that it refers in this context to individuals who were in charge of disbursing temple funds.
  8. 2 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “Now, do not take silver from your treasurers, because for the damages to the temple you must give it.”
  9. 2 Kings 12:8 tn Outside of this passage the verb אוּת (ʾut) appears only in Gen 34:15-22.
  10. 2 Kings 12:8 tn Heb “and not to repair the damages to the temple.” This does not mean that the priests were no longer interested in repairing the temple. As the following context makes clear, the priests decided to hire skilled workers to repair the damage to the temple, rather than trying to make the repairs themselves.
  11. 2 Kings 12:9 tn Heb “on the right of the altar as a man enters.”
  12. 2 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “the king’s scribe.”
  13. 2 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “went up and tied [it] and counted the silver that was found in the house of the Lord.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to make better sense in English, since it seems more logical to count the money before bagging it (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).
  14. 2 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “would give.”
  15. 2 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “doers of the work.”
  16. 2 Kings 12:12 tn Heb “and for all that which was going out concerning the house for repair.”
  17. 2 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “was given.”
  18. 2 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “gave.”
  19. 2 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “and they did not conduct a reckoning of the men who gave the silver into their hand to give to the doers of the work, for in honesty they were working.”
  20. 2 Kings 12:17 tn Heb “went up and fought against.”
  21. 2 Kings 12:17 tn Heb “Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.”
  22. 2 Kings 12:18 tn The object (“it all”) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  23. 2 Kings 12:18 tn Heb “went up.”
  24. 2 Kings 12:19 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Joash, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  25. 2 Kings 12:20 tn Heb “rose up and conspired [with] a conspiracy.”
  26. 2 Kings 12:20 tn Heb “Beth Millo which goes down [toward] Silla.”
  27. 2 Kings 12:21 tn Heb “struck him down and he died.”
  28. 2 Kings 12:21 tn Heb “they buried him.”

Jehoash Repairs the Temple(A)

12 In the seventh year of Jehu, (B)Jehoash[a] became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which (C)Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But (D)the [b]high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

And Jehoash said to the priests, (E)“All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the Lord—each man’s (F)census[c] money, each man’s (G)assessment money—and all the money that [d]a man (H)purposes in his heart to bring into the house of the Lord, let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the [e]damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found.”

Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, (I)that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple. (J)So King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.

Then Jehoiada the priest took (K)a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who [f]kept the door put (L)there all the money brought into the house of the Lord. 10 So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s (M)scribe[g] and the high priest came up and [h]put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. 11 Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of 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 builders who worked on the house of the Lord, 12 and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to (N)repair the damage of the house of the Lord, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple. 13 However (O)there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the Lord. 14 But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the Lord with it. 15 Moreover (P)they did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully. 16 (Q)The money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord. (R)It belonged to the priests.

Hazael Threatens Jerusalem

17 (S)Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then (T)Hazael set his face to [j]go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Jehoash king of Judah (U)took all the sacred things that his fathers, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria. Then he went away from Jerusalem.

Death of Joash(V)

19 Now the rest of the acts of [k]Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

20 And (W)his servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of [l]the Millo, which goes down to Silla. 21 For [m]Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of [n]Shomer, his servants, struck him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then (X)Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 12:1 Joash, 2 Kin. 11:2ff.
  2. 2 Kings 12:3 Places for pagan worship
  3. 2 Kings 12:4 Lit. the money coming over
  4. 2 Kings 12:4 any man’s heart prompts him to bring
  5. 2 Kings 12:5 Lit. breaches
  6. 2 Kings 12:9 guarded at the door
  7. 2 Kings 12:10 secretary
  8. 2 Kings 12:10 tied it up
  9. 2 Kings 12:11 Lit. weighed
  10. 2 Kings 12:17 Advance upon
  11. 2 Kings 12:19 Jehoash, vv. 1–18
  12. 2 Kings 12:20 Lit. The Landfill
  13. 2 Kings 12:21 Zabad, 2 Chr. 24:26
  14. 2 Kings 12:21 Shimrith, 2 Chr. 24:26

Joas, König von Juda; der Tempel wird ausgebessert

12 Im siebenten Jahre Jehus ward Joas König und regierte vierzig Jahre lang zu Jerusalem. Seine Mutter hieß Zibia, von Beerseba.

Und Joas tat, was recht war in den Augen des Herrn, solange ihn der Priester Jojada unterwies. Doch kamen die Höhen nicht weg; denn das Volk opferte und räucherte noch auf den Höhen.

Und Joas sprach zu den Priestern: Alles geheiligte Geld, welches in das Haus des Herrn gebracht wird, das Geld, welches gelegentlich eingeht, wie das, was jeder nach seiner Schatzung gibt, auch alles Geld, das jemand freiwillig ins Haus des Herrn bringt, das sollen die Priester zu sich nehmen, ein jeder von seinem Bekannten; davon sollen sie ausbessern, was am Hause baufällig ist; alles, was baufällig erfunden wird, sollen sie ausbessern.

Als aber die Priester im dreiundzwanzigsten Jahre des Königs Joas nicht ausgebessert hatten, was am Hause baufällig war, berief der König den Priester Jojada und die übrigen Priester und sprach zu ihnen: Warum bessert ihr nicht aus, was am Hause baufällig ist? So sollt ihr nun das Geld nicht mehr nehmen von euren Bekannten, sondern sollt es für die Ausbesserung des Hauses geben! Und die Priester waren damit einverstanden, von dem Volk kein Geld mehr zu nehmen und auch für die Ausbesserung des Hauses nicht mehr zu sorgen.

Da nahm Jojada, der Priester, eine Lade und bohrte ein Loch in deren Deckel und stellte sie zur rechten Hand neben den Altar, da man in das Haus des Herrn geht. Und die Priester, welche die Schwelle hüteten, taten alles Geld, das zum Hause des Herrn gebracht ward, dahinein. 10 Wenn sie dann sahen, daß viel Geld in der Lade war, kamen des Königs Schreiber und der Hohepriester herauf und banden das Geld zusammen und zählten, was im Hause des Herrn gefunden ward. 11 Und man gab das abgewogene Geld denen, die die Arbeit verrichteten, die über das Haus des Herrn bestellt waren; die zahlten es an die Zimmerleute und Bauleute, welche am Hause des Herrn arbeiteten, 12 an die Maurer und Steinmetzen, und um Holz und behauene Steine zu kaufen, damit auszubessern, was am Hause des Herrn baufällig war, und für alle übrigen Ausgaben zur Ausbesserung des Hauses.

13 Doch ließ man für das Haus des Herrn keine silbernen Schalen, Messer, Becken, Trompeten, noch irgend ein goldenes oder silbernes Gerät von dem Gelde machen, welches in das Haus des Herrn gebracht worden war, 14 sondern man gab es den Arbeitern, daß sie damit die Schäden am Hause des Herrn ausbesserten. 15 Sie rechneten auch nicht ab mit den Männern, denen man das Geld einhändigte, um es den Arbeitern zu geben, sondern sie handelten mit Redlichkeit. 16 Das Geld von Schuldopfern aber und das Geld von Sündopfern wurde nicht in das Haus des Herrn gebracht, denn es gehörte den Priestern.

17 Zu der Zeit zog Hasael, der König von Syrien, hinauf und stritt wider Gat und eroberte es. Und als Hasael Miene machte, wider Jerusalem hinaufzuziehen, 18 nahm Joas, der König von Juda, alles, was geheiligt war, was seine Väter Josaphat, Joram und Ahasia, die Könige von Juda, geheiligt hatten, und was er selbst geheiligt hatte, dazu alles Gold, das man in den Schätzen im Hause des Herrn vorfand, und sandte es Hasael, dem König von Syrien. Da zog er ab von Jerusalem.

19 Was aber mehr von Joas zu sagen ist, und alles, was er getan hat, ist das nicht geschrieben in der Chronik der Könige von Juda? 20 Und seine Knechte erhoben sich und machten eine Verschwörung und erschlugen Joas im Hause Millo, da man gegen Silla hinabgeht. 21 Denn Josachar, der Sohn Simeas, und Josabad, der Sohn Somers, seine Knechte, erschlugen ihn, und er starb; und man begrub ihn mit seinen Vätern in der Stadt Davids; und Amazia, sein Sohn, ward König an seiner Statt.