The Second Book of the Kings

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- Chapter 12 -

(2 Chronicles 24:1–14)

In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash

(a)

became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.

And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days he was instructed by Jehoiada the priest.

Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house of the LORD.

Let every priest receive it from his constituency, and let it be used to repair any damage found in the temple.”

By the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, however, the priests had not yet repaired the damage to the temple.

So King Joash called Jehoiada and the other priests and said, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, therefore, take no more money from your constituency, but hand it over for the repair of the temple.”

So the priests agreed that they would not receive money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the house of the LORD. There the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money brought into the house of the LORD.

Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of the LORD, and tie it up in bags.

Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of the LORD, who in turn would pay those doing the work—the carpenters, builders,

masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.

However, the money brought into the house of the LORD was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of the LORD.

Instead, it was paid to those doing the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.

No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay the workmen, because they acted with integrity.

The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.

The Death of Joash

(2 Chronicles 24:23–27)

At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.

So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.

As for the rest of the acts of Joash, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.

His servants Jozabad (b) son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer (c) struck him down, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.

Footnotes

(a)12:1 Hebrew Jehoash, a variant of Joash (son of Ahaziah); also in verses 2, 4, 6, 7, and 18; see 2 Kings 11:2.

(b)12:21 Hebrew; LXX and Syriac Jozacar

(2 Chronicles 24:1–14)

Jehoash began to reign in the seventh year of Jehu, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

Jehoash did that which was right in the LORD’s eyes all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.

Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the LORD’s house, in current money, the money of the people for whom each man is evaluated,(a) and all the money that it comes into any man’s heart to bring into the LORD’s house,

let the priests take it to them, each man from his donor; and they shall repair the damage to the house, wherever any damage is found.”

But it was so, that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damage to the house.

Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said to them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage to the house? Now therefore take no more money from your treasurers, but deliver it for repair of the damage to the house.”

The priests consented that they should take no more money from the people, and not repair the damage to the house.

But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the LORD’s house; and the priests who kept the threshold put all the money that was brought into the LORD’s house into it.

When they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put it in bags and counted the money that was found in the LORD’s house.

They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the LORD’s house; and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the LORD’s house,

and to the masons and the stone cutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the damage to the LORD’s house, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

But there were not made for the LORD’s house cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the LORD’s house;

for they gave that to those who did the work, and repaired the LORD’s house with it.

Moreover they didn’t demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they dealt faithfully.

The money for the trespass offerings and the money for the sin offerings was not brought into the LORD’s house. It was the priests’.

The Death of Joash

(2 Chronicles 24:23–27)

Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own holy things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the LORD’s house, and of the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria; and he went away from Jerusalem.

Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

His servants arose and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.

For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in David’s city; and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

(a)12:4 ℘ Exodus 30:12