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12 In the seventh year of Jehu reigned hath Jehoash, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Zibiah of Beer-Sheba,

and Jehoash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days in which Jehoiada the priest directed him,

only, the high places have not turned aside, still are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.

And Jehoash saith unto the priests, `All the money of the sanctified things that is brought in to the house of Jehovah, the money of him who is passing over, each the money of his valuation, all the money that it goeth up on the heart of a man to bring in to the house of Jehovah,

do the priests take to them, each from his acquaintance, and they strengthen the breach of the house, in all [places] where there is found a breach.'

And it cometh to pass, in the twenty and third year of king Jehoash, the priests have not strengthened the breach of the house,

and king Jehoash calleth to Jehoiada the priest, and to the priests, and saith unto them, `Wherefore are ye not strengthening the breach of the house? and now, receive no money from your acquaintances, but for the breach of the house give it.'

And the priests consent not to receive money from the people, nor to strengthen the breach of the house,

and Jehoiada the priest taketh a chest, and pierceth a hole in its lid, and putteth it near the altar, on the right side, as one cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and the priests keeping the threshold have put there all the money that is brought in to the house of Jehovah.

10 And it cometh to pass, at their seeing that the money [is] abundant in the chest, that there goeth up a scribe of the king, and of the high priest, and they bind [it] up, and count the money that is found [in] the house of Jehovah,

11 and have given the weighed money into the hands of those doing the work, those inspecting the house of Jehovah, and they bring it out to those working in the wood, and to builders who are working in the house of Jehovah,

12 and to those [repairing] the wall, and to hewers of stone, and to buy wood and hewn stones to strengthen the breach of the house of Jehovah, and for all that goeth out on the house, to strengthen it.

13 Only, there is not made for the house of Jehovah basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessel of gold, and vessel of silver, out of the money that is brought into the house of Jehovah;

14 for to those doing the work they give it, and they have strengthened with it the house of Jehovah,

15 and they do not reckon with the men into whose hand they give the money to give to those doing the work, for in faithfulness they are dealing.

16 The money of a trespass-offering, and the money of sin-offerings is not brought in to the house of Jehovah -- for the priests it is.

17 Then go up doth Hazael king of Aram, and fighteth against Gath, and captureth it, and Hazael setteth his face to go up against Jerusalem;

18 and Jehoash king of Judah taketh all the sanctified things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had sanctified, and his own sanctified things, and all the gold that is found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the house of the king, and sendeth to Hazael king of Aram, and he goeth up from off Jerusalem.

19 And the rest of the matters of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

20 And his servants rise, and make a conspiracy, and smite Joash in the house of Millo, that is going down to Silla:

21 yea, Jozachar son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad son of Shemer, his servants, have smitten him, and he dieth, and they bury him with his fathers in the city of David, and reign doth Amaziah his son, in his stead.

13 In the twenty and third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, hath Jehoahaz son of Jehu reigned over Israel, in Samaria -- seventeen years,

and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and goeth after the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin -- he turned not aside from it,

and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He giveth them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael, all the days.

And Jehoahaz appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkeneth unto him, for He hath seen the oppression of Israel, for oppressed them hath the king of Aram, --

and Jehovah giveth to Israel a saviour, and they go out from under the hand of Aram, and the sons of Israel dwell in their tents as heretofore;

only, they have not turned aside from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, that he caused Israel to sin, therein they walked, and also, the shrine hath remained in Samaria, --

for he left not to Jehoahaz of the people except fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Aram hath destroyed them, and maketh them as dust for threshing.

And the rest of the matters of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And Jehoahaz lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in Samaria, and reign doth Joash his son in his stead.

10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah reigned hath Jehoash son of Jehoahaz over Israel, in Samaria -- sixteen years,

11 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin, therein he walked.

12 And the rest of the matters of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

13 And Joash lieth with his fathers, and Jeroboam hath sat on his throne, and Joash is buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel.

14 And Elisha hath been sick with his sickness in which he dieth, and come down unto him doth Joash king of Israel, and weepeth on his face, and saith, `My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen.'

15 And Elisha saith to him, `Take bow and arrows:' and he taketh unto him bow and arrows.

16 And he saith to the king of Israel, `Place thy hand on the bow;' and he placeth his hand, and Elisha putteth his hands on the hands of the king,

17 and saith, `Open the window eastward;' and he openeth, and Elisha saith, `Shoot,' and he shooteth; and he saith, `An arrow of salvation to Jehovah, and an arrow of salvation against Aram, and thou hast smitten Aram, in Aphek, till consuming.'

18 And he saith, `Take the arrows,' and he taketh; and he saith to the king of Israel, `Smite to the earth;' and he smiteth three times, and stayeth.

19 And the man of God is wroth against him, and saith, `By smiting five or six times then thou hadst smitten Aram till consuming; and now, three times thou dost smite Aram.'

20 And Elisha dieth, and they bury him, and troops of Moab come in to the land, at the coming in of the year,

21 and it cometh to pass, they are burying a man, and lo, they have seen the troop, and cast the man into the grave of Elisha, and the man goeth and cometh against the bones of Elisha, and liveth, and riseth on his feet.

22 And Hazael king of Aram hath oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz,

23 and Jehovah doth favour them, and pity them, and turn unto them, for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and hath not been willing to destroy them, nor to cast them from His presence as yet.

24 And Hazael king of Aram dieth, and reign doth Ben-Hadad his son in his stead,

25 and Jehoash son of Jehoahaz turneth and taketh the cities out of the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael that he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father in war; three times hath Joash smitten him, and he bringeth back the cities of Israel.

Joash Repairs the Temple(A)

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

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. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair(I) 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(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. 15 They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.(O) 16 The money from the guilt offerings(P) and sin offerings[c](Q) was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged(R) to the priests.

17 About this time Hazael(S) king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. 18 But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his predecessors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and of the royal palace, and he sent(T) them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew(U) from Jerusalem.

19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20 His officials(V) conspired against him and assassinated(W) him at Beth Millo,(X) on the road down to Silla. 21 The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoahaz King of Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did evil(Y) in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. So the Lord’s anger(Z) burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power(AA) of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad(AB) his son.

Then Jehoahaz sought(AC) the Lord’s favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw(AD) how severely the king of Aram was oppressing(AE) Israel. The Lord provided a deliverer(AF) for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. But they did not turn away from the sins(AG) of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole[d](AH) remained standing in Samaria.

Nothing had been left(AI) of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust(AJ) at threshing time.

As for the other events of the reign of Jehoahaz, all he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoash[e] his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoash King of Israel

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.

12 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoash, all he did and his achievements, including his war against Amaziah(AK) king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals(AL) of the kings of Israel? 13 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam(AM) succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots(AN) and horsemen of Israel!”

15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,”(AO) and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!”(AP) Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”(AQ)

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”(AR)

20 Elisha died and was buried.

Now Moabite raiders(AS) used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life(AT) and stood up on his feet.

22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed(AU) Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant(AV) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy(AW) them or banish them from his presence.(AX)

24 Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad(AY) his son succeeded him as king. 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Three times(AZ) Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered(BA) the Israelite towns.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-21 is numbered 12:2-22.
  2. 2 Kings 12:1 Hebrew Jehoash, a variant of Joash; also in verses 2, 4, 6, 7 and 18
  3. 2 Kings 12:16 Or purification offerings
  4. 2 Kings 13:6 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Kings
  5. 2 Kings 13:9 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash; also in verses 12-14 and 25