2 Kings 12:1-14 - Compare All Versions
2 Kings 12:1-14 NIV (New International Version)
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money that is brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the LORD—the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.” But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.” The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves. Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the LORD. The priests who guarded the entrance put into the chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the LORD. Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the LORD and put it into bags. When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the LORD—the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and blocks of dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the LORD, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple. The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the LORD; it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple.
2 Kings 12:1-14 ESV (English Standard Version 2025)
In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places. Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the LORD, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD, let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house. Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the LORD. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the LORD, and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the LORD, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. But there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the LORD with it.
2 Kings 12:1-14 NLT (New Living Translation)
Joash began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu’s reign in Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. One day King Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as a sacred offering to the LORD’s Temple, whether it is a regular assessment, a payment of vows, or a voluntary gift. Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple.” But by the twenty-third year of Joash’s reign, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, “Why haven’t you repaired the Temple? Don’t use any more money for your own needs. From now on, it must all be spent on Temple repairs.” So the priests agreed not to accept any more money from the people, and they also agreed to let others take responsibility for repairing the Temple. Then Jehoiada the priest bored a hole in the lid of a large chest and set it on the right-hand side of the altar at the entrance of the Temple of the LORD. The priests guarding the entrance put all of the people’s contributions into the chest. Whenever the chest became full, the court secretary and the high priest counted the money that had been brought to the LORD’s Temple and put it into bags. Then they gave the money to the construction supervisors, who used it to pay the people working on the LORD’s Temple—the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and the stonecutters. They also used the money to buy the timber and the finished stone needed for repairing the LORD’s Temple, and they paid any other expenses related to the Temple’s restoration. The money brought to the Temple was not used for making silver bowls, lamp snuffers, basins, trumpets, or other articles of gold or silver for the Temple of the LORD. It was paid to the workmen, who used it for the Temple repairs.
2 Kings 12:1-14 CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba. Throughout the time the priest Jehoiada instructed him, Joash did what was right in the LORD’s sight. Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. Then Joash said to the priests, “All the dedicated silver brought to the LORD’s temple, census silver, silver from vows, and all silver voluntarily given for the LORD’s temple — each priest is to take it from his assessor and repair whatever damage is found in the temple.” , But by the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash, the priests had not repaired the damage to the temple. So King Joash called the priest Jehoiada and the other priests and asked, “Why haven’t you repaired the temple’s damage? Since you haven’t, don’t take any silver from your assessors; instead, hand it over for the repair of the temple.” So the priests agreed that they would receive no silver from the people and would not be the ones to repair the temple’s damage. Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the LORD’s temple; the priests who guarded the threshold put into the chest all the silver that was brought to the LORD’s temple. Whenever they saw there was a large amount of silver in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest would go bag up and tally the silver found in the LORD’s temple. Then they would give the weighed silver to those doing the work — those who oversaw the LORD’s temple. They in turn would pay it out to those working on the LORD’s temple — the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and the stonecutters — and would use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the damage to the LORD’s temple and for all expenses for temple repairs. However, no silver bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver were made for the LORD’s temple from the contributions brought to the LORD’s temple. Instead, it was given to those doing the work, and they repaired the LORD’s temple with it.
2 Kings 12:1-14 KJV (King James Version)
In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD, let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, and to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: but they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 12:1-14 NKJV (New King James Version)
In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. And Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the LORD—each man’s census money, each man’s assessment money—and all the money that a man purposes in his heart to bring into the house of the LORD, let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found.” Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple. So King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple. 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 comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the LORD. So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD, and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to repair the damage of the house of the LORD, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple. However there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the LORD. But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the LORD with it.
2 Kings 12:1-16 MSG (The Message)
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash began his kingly rule. He was king for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Gazelle. She was from Beersheba. Taught and trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased GOD for as long as he lived. (Even so, he didn’t get rid of the sacred fertility shrines—people still frequented them, sacrificing and burning incense.) Joash instructed the priests: “Take the money that is brought into The Temple of GOD for holy offerings—both mandatory offerings and freewill offerings—and, keeping a careful accounting, use them to renovate The Temple wherever it has fallen into disrepair.” But by the twenty-third year of Joash’s rule, the priests hadn’t done one thing—The Temple was as dilapidated as ever. King Joash called Jehoiada the priest and the company of priests and said, “Why haven’t you renovated this sorry-looking Temple? You are forbidden to take any more money for Temple repairs—from now on, hand over everything you get.” The priests agreed not to take any more money or to be involved in The Temple renovation. Then Jehoiada took a single chest and bored a hole in the lid and placed it to the right of the main entrance into The Temple of GOD. All the offerings that were brought to The Temple of GOD were placed in the chest by the priests who guarded the entrance. When they saw that a large sum of money had accumulated in the chest, the king’s secretary and the chief priest would empty the chest and count the offerings. They would give the money accounted for to the managers of The Temple project; they in turn would pay the carpenters, construction workers, masons, stoneworkers, and the buyers of timber and quarried stone for the repair and renovation of The Temple of GOD—any expenses connected with fixing up The Temple. But none of the money brought into The Temple of GOD was used for liturgical “extras” (silver chalices, candle snuffers, trumpets, various gold and silver vessels, etc.). It was given to the workmen to pay for their repairing GOD’s Temple. And no one even had to check on the men who handled the money given for the project—they were honest men. Offerings designated for Compensation Offerings and Absolution Offerings didn’t go into the building project—those went directly to the priests.
2 Kings 12:1-14 NASB2020 (New American Standard Bible - NASB)
In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all his days that Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places did not end; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Then Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred offerings which is brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, both the money of each man’s assessment and all the money which anyone’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD, the priests are to take it for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair damage to the house wherever any damage is found.” But it came about that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not repaired any damage to the house. So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, “Why do you not repair damage to the house? Now then, you are not to take any more money from your acquaintances, but give it up for the damage to the house.” The priests then agreed that they would not take any more money from the people, nor would they repair damage to the house. Instead, Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. When they saw that there was a great amount of money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest went up and tied it up in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. And they handed the money which was assessed over to those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the LORD; and to the masons and the stonecutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and for everything that was laid out for the house to repair it. However there were not made for the house of the LORD silver cups, shears, bowls, trumpets, any receptacles of gold, or receptacles of silver from the money which was brought into the house of the LORD; for they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 12:1-14 AMP (Amplified Bible)
In the seventh year of Jehu [king of Israel], Jehoash became king [over Judah], and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense [to the LORD] on the high places [rather than at the temple]. Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money for the dedicated things which is brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, both the money of each man’s assessment [for all those bound by vows], and all the money which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house (temple) of the LORD, let the priests receive such contributions for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair any breach in the house of the LORD, wherever a breach is found.” But it came about in the twenty-third year of [the reign of] King Jehoash, that the priests still had not repaired the damages of the LORD’S house. Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest and the [other] priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the damage of the house (temple)? Now then, do not take any more money from your acquaintances, but turn it all over for [the repair of] the damages of the house.” [You are no longer responsible for this work. I will take it into my own hands.] So the priests agreed that they would receive no [more] money from the people, nor [be responsible to] repair the damages of the house. Then 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 enters the house of the LORD; and the priests who guarded the door put in the chest all the money that was brought [by the people] into the house of the LORD. And whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and tied it in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. Then they gave the money, which was weighed out into the hands of those who were doing the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house (temple) of the LORD, and to the masons and stonecutters, and to buy timber and hewn (cut) stone to repair any breach in the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for repairing the house. However, there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any gold containers or [other] silver containers, from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD; but they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 12:1-14 NET (New English Translation)
(12:2) In Jehu’s seventh year Jehoash became king; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the LORD approved, just as Jehoiada the priest taught him. But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the LORD’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, the silver received from those who have made vows, and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the LORD’s temple. The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.” By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple. So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.” The priests agreed not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs. Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of the LORD’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the LORD’s temple. When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the LORD’s temple and bagged it up. They would then hand over the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen assigned to the LORD’s temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the LORD’s temple, as well as masons and stonecutters. They bought wood and chiseled stone to repair the damage to the LORD’s temple and also paid for all the other expenses. The silver brought to the LORD’s temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements. It was handed over to the foremen who used it to repair the LORD’s temple.