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2 KINGS 13
page 339
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.
The End of Joash’s Reign
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 The Book of
the History of the Kings of Judah.
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.
Jehoahaz Rules in Israel
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
13
12:21 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads Jozabad.
13:9 Hebrew Joash, a variant spelling of Jehoash; also in 13:10,
12, 13, 14, 25.
allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Benhadad 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 The Book of the History of the
Kings of Israel. 9 When Jehoahaz died, he was
buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoash* became the next king.
Jehoash Rules in 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 The Book of the History of
the Kings of Israel. 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
14 When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My
• Faithfulness
2 K I N G S 12:15
If all people practiced integrity in their
dealings, we would have no more need
of a legal system. A written agreement is
a safeguard in a society where integrity
is no longer a given. In reality, the integrity
of the two parties should be the true
contract in an agreement. A person of
complete faithfulness or integrity will not
break an agreement, signed or unsigned.
Think about it! What kind of reputation are
you building with others? Would others
enter a deal with you and feel no need for
a signed legal paper?