The Reign of Jehoash of Judah

12¹ 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. ² All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord 's sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

⁴ 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. ⁵ Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple." ⁶ But by the twenty-third year of Joash's reign, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. ⁷ 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." ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ 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, ¹² 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. ¹³ 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 . ¹⁴ It was paid to the workmen, who used it for the Temple repairs. ¹⁵ No accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors, because they were honest and trustworthy men. ¹⁶ However, the money that was contributed for guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the Lord 's Temple. It was given to the priests for their own use.

¹⁷ About this time King Hazael of Aram went to war against Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁸ King Joash collected all the sacred objects that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the previous kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with what he himself had dedicated. He sent them all to Hazael, along with all the gold in the treasuries of the Lord 's Temple and the royal palace. So Hazael called off his attack on Jerusalem. ¹⁹ The rest of the events in Joash's reign and everything he did are recorded in ²⁰ Joash's officers plotted against him and assassinated him at Beth-millo on the road to Silla. ²¹ The assassins were Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer-both trusted advisers. Joash was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Amaziah became the next king.

The Reign of Jehoahaz

13¹ Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. ² But he did what was evil in the Lord 's sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. ³ So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly. ⁴ Then Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord 's help, and the Lord heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. ⁵ So the Lord provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days. ⁶ But they continued to sin, following the evil example of Jeroboam. They also allowed the Asherah pole in Samaria to remain standing. ⁷ Finally, Jehoahaz's army was reduced to 50 charioteers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had killed the others, trampling them like dust under his feet. ⁸ The rest of the events in Jehoahaz's reign-everything he did and the extent of his power-are recorded in ⁹ When Jehoahaz died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoash became the next king.

The Reign of Jehoash of Israel

¹⁰ Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to rule over Israel in the thirty-seventh year of King Joash's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria sixteen years. ¹¹ But he did what was evil in the Lord 's sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. ¹² The rest of the events in Jehoash's reign and everything he did, including the extent of his power and his war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in ¹³ When Jehoash died, he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then his son Jeroboam II became the next king.

Elisha's Final Prophecy and Death

¹⁴ When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. "My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!" he cried. ¹⁵ Elisha told him, "Get a bow and some arrows." And the king did as he was told. ¹⁶ Elisha told him, "Put your hand on the bow," and Elisha laid his own hands on the king's hands. ¹⁷ Then he commanded, "Open that eastern window," and he opened it. Then he said, "Shoot!" So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, "This is the Lord 's arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek." ¹⁸ Then he said, "Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground." So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. ¹⁹ But the man of God was angry with him. "You should have struck the ground five or six times!" he exclaimed. "Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times."

²⁰ Then Elisha died and was buried. Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. ²¹ Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha's bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet! ²² King Hazael of Aram had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. ²³ But the Lord was gracious and merciful to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. He pitied them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day he still has not completely destroyed them or banished them from his presence. ²⁴ King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad became the next king. ²⁵ Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns that had been taken from Jehoash's father, Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad on three occasions, and he recovered the Israelite towns.

The Reign of Joash of Judah

24¹ Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. ² Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord 's sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and he had sons and daughters. ⁴ At one point Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple of the Lord . ⁵ He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions: "Go to all the towns of Judah and collect the required annual offerings, so that we can repair the Temple of your God. Do not delay!" But the Levites did not act immediately. ⁶ So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and asked him, "Why haven't you demanded that the Levites go out and collect the Temple taxes from the towns of Judah and from Jerusalem? Moses, the servant of the Lord, levied this tax on the community of Israel in order to maintain the Tabernacle of the Covenant. " ⁷ Over the years the followers of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God, and they had used all the dedicated things from the Temple of the Lord to worship the images of Baal. ⁸ So now the king ordered a chest to be made and set outside the gate leading to the Temple of the Lord . ⁹ Then a proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, telling the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had required of the Israelites in the wilderness. ¹⁰ This pleased all the leaders and the people, and they gladly brought their money and filled the chest with it. ¹¹ Whenever the chest became full, the Levites would carry it to the king's officials. Then the court secretary and an officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest and take it back to the Temple again. This went on day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the construction supervisors, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the Temple of the Lord . They also hired metalworkers, who made articles of iron and bronze for the Lord 's Temple. ¹³ The men in charge of the renovation worked hard and made steady progress. They restored the Temple of God according to its original design and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When all the repairs were finished, they brought the remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make various articles for the Temple of the Lord -articles for worship services and for burnt offerings, including ladles and other articles made of gold and silver. And the burnt offerings were sacrificed continually in the Temple of the Lord during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.

¹⁵ Jehoiada lived to a very old age, finally dying at 130. ¹⁶ He was buried among the kings in the City of David, because he had done so much good in Israel for God and his Temple. ¹⁷ But after Jehoiada's death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. ¹⁸ They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Yet the Lord sent prophets to bring them back to him. The prophets warned them, but still the people would not listen. ²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord 's commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!" ²¹ Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and King Joash ordered that they stone him to death in the courtyard of the Lord 's Temple. ²² That was how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his loyalty-by killing his son. Zechariah's last words as he died were, "May the Lord see what they are doing and avenge my death!" ²³ In the spring of the year the Aramean army marched against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the nation. Then they sent all the plunder back to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Arameans attacked with only a small army, the Lord helped them conquer the much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash. ²⁵ The Arameans withdrew, leaving Joash severely wounded. But his own officials plotted to kill him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest. They assassinated him as he lay in bed. Then he was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery. ²⁶ The assassins were Jozacar, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shomer. ²⁷ The account of the sons of Joash, the prophecies about him, and the record of his restoration of the Temple of God are written in His son Amaziah became the next king.