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the seventh year of the reign of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.
4 Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money that is brought as dedicated gifts to the House of the Lord—the census money, the money received from vows, and all the money that each person whose heart convicts him to give to the House of the Lord. 5 Let each priest receive the money from his benefactor, and let them use it to repair whatever damage to the temple is found.”
6 But by the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash the priests had still not repaired the temple. 7 So King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the House of the Lord? Therefore you must not take any more money for yourselves from your benefactors, but instead hand over the money for carrying out the repairs to the temple.” 8 So the priests agreed that they would no longer collect any more money from the people, or be in charge of repairs to the temple.
9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the House of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance put all the money in the chest that was brought into the House of the Lord. 10 Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest would come and count the money brought into the House of the Lord, and tie it up in bags. 11 When the money had been weighed out, they would deliver it to the men in charge of the work on the House of the Lord. They in turn paid the workers repairing the House of the Lord—the carpenters and builders, 12 the masons and the stonecutters. They also paid for timber and quarried stone to repair the damage to the House of the Lord, and for paying all the other associated costs.
13 However, no silver bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any other articles of gold or silver were made for the House of the Lord from the money brought into the temple. 14 The money was paid directly to the workmen, and they used it to repair the House of the Lord. 15 They did not require an accounting from the men who received the money to pay those doing the work, for they were all completely honest. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the House of the Lord; it went to the priests.
17 At that time Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem. 18 But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects that had been dedicated by his fathers span class="emDash">—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, along with his own gifts he had dedicated, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the king’s palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written about in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 20 His servants formed a conspiracy against Joash and they assassinated him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla. 21 The officials who murdered Joash were son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his fathers in the City of David; and his son Amaziah succeeded him as king.