2 Kings, Chapter 12:

Verses from 2 Kings, Chapter 12 of the book of 2 Kings of the Bible.

2 Kings - Old Testament — 2 Kings – Old Testament

Joash repairs the temple

1. In the seventh year of Jehu's reign, Joash began to reign and ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother's name was Zibia and she was from Beersheba.
2. All the time Jehoiada the priest instructed him, Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
3. However, the idolatrous altars were not destroyed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on these altars.
4. Then Joash commanded the priests: “Gather together all the consecrated silver brought to the temple of the Lord: the silver from the census ransom, the silver from personal vows, and the silver brought voluntarily to the temple.
5. Each priest will collect the silver of his faithful and use it to repair the temple.”
6. However, in the twenty-third year of Joash's reign, the priests had not yet repaired the temple.
7. Then King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why are you not repairing the temple? From now on, do not receive any more silver from your faithful. Give it to the temple repair work.”
8. The priests agreed to no longer receive silver from the people and not to be responsible for repairing the temple.
9. Then Jehoiada the priest took a box, made a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar, to the right of the entrance to the temple of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance placed all the silver brought to the temple there.
10. Whenever there was a considerable amount of silver in the box, the king's secretary and the high priest would come and weigh the silver and put it into bags.
11. Then, they handed over the silver to the supervisors of the temple work. They paid the carpenters, the builders,
12. the masons and artisans who worked on rebuilding the temple of the Lord. They also purchased wood and carved stone for repairs and covered all related expenses.
13. The silver brought to the temple was not used to make silver utensils such as basins, wick snuffers, sprinkling bowls, or trumpets, nor for any other gold or silver objects.
14. Silver was used to pay workers and repair the temple.
15. Accountability was not required from those who received the money to pay the workers, as they acted honestly.
16. However, the silver from the sin offerings and the trespass offerings was not brought into the temple of the Lord, as it belonged to the priests.
17. At this time Hazael king of Syria marched against Gath and conquered it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
18. Joash, king of Judah, took all the sacred objects that his predecessors, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated to the Lord, besides those that he himself had dedicated, and all the gold found in the treasures of the temple of Judah. Lord and the royal palace. And he sent everything as tribute to Hazael, king of Syria, who then gave up attacking Jerusalem.
19. The other events of Joash's reign, as well as all his achievements, are written in the historical records of the kings of Judah.
20. Two of Joash's officers conspired against him and murdered him at Beth Milo, on the way down to Sulla.
21. The murderers were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shamr. Joash was buried next to his ancestors in the City of David. And his son Amaziah became king in his place.