After this Joash (A)decided to (B)restore the house of the Lord. And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of (C)Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem (D)the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the congregation of Israel for (E)the tent of testimony?” For (F)the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also used all (G)the dedicated things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

So the king commanded, and they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. And (H)proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the Lord (I)the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness. 10 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.[a] 11 And whenever the chest was brought to the king's officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was much money in it, the king's secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. Thus they did day after day, and collected money in abundance. 12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had charge of the work 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 those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward in their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it. 14 And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and with it (J)were made utensils for the house of the Lord, both for the service and for the burnt offerings, and dishes for incense and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord regularly all the days of Jehoiada.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:10 Or until it was full

Sometime later, Jehoash wanted to renovate the Lord’s temple. He gathered the priests and the Levites and said, “Go to the cities of Judah and collect the annual tax of silver due from all Israel for the upkeep of God’s temple. Do it right away.”

But the Levites procrastinated. So the king summoned the chief priest Jehoiada and asked him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the Lord’s servant Moses and the Israelite assembly for the covenant tent?” (Now wicked Athaliah and her followers had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy objects of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) So at the king’s command a box was made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple. Then a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that God’s servant Moses had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 10 This so pleased all the leaders and all the people that they gladly dropped their money in the box until it was full. 11 Whenever the box was brought by the Levites to the royal accountants, as soon as they saw that a large amount of money was in the box, the royal scribe and the representative of the high priest would come, empty the box, and return it to its place. This took place day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. 12 The king and Jehoiada would give it to those in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple who in turn hired masons and carpenters to renovate the Lord’s temple, as well as metalworkers for the iron and bronze to repair the Lord’s temple. 13 The workers labored hard, and the restoration progressed smoothly under their control until they had brought God’s temple back to its original state and reinforced it. 14 As soon as they finished, they brought the remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make equipment for the Lord’s temple, including what was used for the service and the entirely burned offerings, pans, and other objects made of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, the entirely burned offerings were regularly offered in the Lord’s temple.

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