²¹ Joash^[a] was seven years old when he began to reign.^[b]

Joash Repairs the Temple^(A)

12 ^[c]In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash^[d](B) became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right^(C) in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ The high places,^(D) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁴ Joash said to the priests, “Collect^(E) all the money that is brought as sacred offerings^(F) to the temple of the Lord—the money collected in the census,^(G) the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily^(H) to the temple. ⁵ Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair^(I) whatever damage is found in the temple.”

⁶ But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. ⁷ 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.” ⁸ The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

⁹ 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^(J) put into the chest all the money^(K) that was brought to the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary^(L) and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord and put it into bags. ¹¹ 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, ¹² the masons and stonecutters.^(M) 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.

¹³ The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold^(N) or silver for the temple of the Lord; ¹⁴ it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple.