2 Kings Chapter 12

Joash Repairs the Temple

¹ In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and ruled for 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² His whole life he did what was good like Jehoiada instructed him, ³ except he didn’t take away the high places. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on them.

^4-5 Jehoash told the priests,

“Let the priests take the money for sacred things that’s brought into Yahveh’s Temple and make any repairs on the Temple—money collected from the census, payments for vows, and voluntary offerings.”

⁶ By his twenty-third year, the priests still hadn’t made the repairs. ⁷ He said, “Why aren’t you repairing them? Don’t take any more money from your acquaintances. Hand it over for the damages to the Temple.” ⁸ The priests agreed not to take any more money and to let others do the repairs. 2 Kg 12:1-8

⁹ But Jehoiada took a chest, bored a hole in the lid, and put it on the right side the altar, where people come into Yahveh’s Temple. The priests that guarded the threshold put the money in it that people brought in. ¹⁰ When the chest was getting full, the king’s secretary and the high priest counted it and tied it up in bags. ^11-12 They weighed out the money to the ones that oversaw the Temple. They paid it to the carpenters, builders, masons, and stonecutters, and bought the lumber, hewn stone, and any other costs for the repairs. ¹³ But they didn’t make silver cups, snuffers, bowls, bugles, any gold or silver items from the money. ¹⁴ They gave it to the repairmen ¹⁵ and didn’t require any accounting from them because they were honest. ¹⁶ Money from guilt offerings and sin offerings didn’t come into the Temple because it belonged to the priests.                          

                                                                                                                              2 Kg 12:9-16

¹⁷ At that time, Hazael, king of Aram, went and conquered Gath, then turned toward Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Jehoash/Joash took the sacred things that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah had dedicated, along with his own sacred things and the gold in the treasuries in Yahveh’s Temple and the king’s palace, and sent it to Hazael. So he let Jerusalem alone.

¹⁹ The rest of the acts of Joash/Jehoash are recorded in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. ²⁰ His officers led a conspiracy, and Jozacar Ben-Shimeath with Jehozabad Ben-Shomer assassinated him at Beth-millo on the way down to Silla. They buried him with his ancestors in The City of David. His son Amaziah became king.                                                                     2 Kg 12:17-21