2 Kings 12
12
1Joash became king of Judah in Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel, and he ruled for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba. 2Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest taught him. 3But the places where gods were worshiped were not removed; the people still made sacrifices and burned incense there.
Joash Repairs the Temple
4Joash said to the priests, “Take all the money brought as offerings to the Temple of the Lord. This includes the money each person owes in taxes and the money each person promises or brings freely to the Lord. 5Each priest will take the money from the people he serves. Then the priests must repair any damage they find in the Temple.”
6But by the twenty-third year Joash was king, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. 7So King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage of the Temple? Don’t take any more money from the people you serve, but hand over the money for the repair of the Temple.” 8The priests agreed not to take any more money from the people and not to repair the Temple themselves.
9Jehoiada the priest took a box and made a hole in the top of it. Then he put it by the altar, on the right side as the people came into the Temple of the Lord. The priests guarding the doorway put all the money brought to the Temple of the Lord into the box.
10Each time the priests saw that the box was full of money, the king’s royal secretary and the high priest came. They counted the money that had been brought to the Temple of the Lord, and they put it into bags. 11Next they weighed the money and gave it to the people in charge of the work on the Temple. With it they paid the carpenters and the builders who worked on the Temple of the Lord, 12as well as the bricklayers and stonecutters. They also used the money to buy timber and cut stone to repair the damage of the Temple of the Lord. It paid for everything.
13The money brought into the Temple of the Lord was not used to make silver cups, wick trimmers, bowls, trumpets, or gold or silver vessels. 14They paid the money to the workers, who used it to repair the Temple of the Lord. 15They did not demand to know how the money was spent, because the workers were honest. 16The money from the penalty offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the Temple of the Lord, because it belonged to the priests.
Joash Saves Jerusalem
17About this time Hazael king of Aram attacked Gath and captured it. Then he went to attack Jerusalem. 18Joash king of Judah took all the holy things given by his ancestors, the kings of Judah—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. He also took his own holy things as well as the gold that was found in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the gold from the palace. Joash sent all this treasure to Hazael king of Aram, who turned away from Jerusalem.
19Everything else Joash did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 20His officers made plans against him and killed him at Beth Millo on the road down to Silla. 21The officers who killed him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. Joash was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, and Amaziah, his son, became king in his place.
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2 Kings 12: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.