Jehoash Restores the Temple

12 Jehoash was seven years old when he became king. ² Jehoash began his reign in the seventh year of Jehu and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ³ Now Jehoash did what was right in Adonai’s eyes all his days, just as Jehoiada the kohen instructed him. ⁴ The high places, however, were not taken away. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

⁵ Then Jehoash said to the kohanim, “All the money of the sacred donations brought to the House of Adonai—the money in exchange for each person’s valuation, as well as all the money that anyone’s heart prompts him to bring to the House of Adonai— ⁶ let the kohanim receive it, each from one of the treasurers, so they may repair the damage to the House wherever any damage is found.”

⁷ But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the kohanim still had not repaired the damage to the House. ⁸ Then King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the kohen and the other kohanim, and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the damage to the House? Now therefore, take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for the damage to the House.” ⁹ The kohanim agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor would they repair the damage of the House.

¹⁰ But Jehoiada the kohen took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one entered the House of Adonai. The priestly guards of the threshold deposited there all the money that was brought to the House of Adonai. ¹¹ Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the kohen gadol would come up, put the money in bags and count the money that was found in the House of Adonai. ¹² Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had been overseeing the House of Adonai—they, in turn, would pay it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the House of Adonai, ¹³ and to the masons and the stonecutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the damage to Adonai’s House, and for all that was laid out for the House to repair it.

¹⁴ But there were no silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, and no vessels of gold or vessels of silver made for the House of Adonai from the money brought to the House of Adonai. ¹⁵ For they gave it to those that did the work, and with it they repaired the House of Adonai. ¹⁶ They did not check on the men to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, for they dealt faithfully. ¹⁷ The money from the guilt offering and money from the sin offering was not brought into the House of Adonai—it was for the kohanim.

¹⁸ Then King Hazael of Aram marched and attacked Gath and captured it, and next Hazael set his face to march against Jerusalem. ¹⁹ But King Jehoash of Judah took all the sacred objects that his fathers Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred objects, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the House of Adonai and in the royal palace, and sent them to King Hazael of Aram, so he withdrew from Jerusalem.

²⁰ 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? ²¹ But his courtiers arose, conspired against him and assassinated Joash at Beth-Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. ²² His courtiers Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. Then they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. His son Amaziah became king in his place.