2 Kings 12 Free Bible Version

121 Joash became king in the seventh year of the reign of Jehu, and he reigned in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the Lord's sight during the years that Jehoiada the priest advised him. 3 Even so, the high places were not removed—the people went on sacrificing and presenting burnt offerings at these places. 4 Joash told the priests, “Collect together all the money that is brought as holy offerings to the Lord's Temple, whether the census money, the money from individual vows, or the money brought as a voluntary donation to the Lord's Temple. 5 Let each priest receive the money from those who give, and use it to repair whatever damage is discovered in the Temple.” 6 But by the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, the priests still had not repaired the damage to the Temple. 7 So King Joash called together Jehoiada and the other priests and asked, “Why haven't you repaired the damage in the Temple? Don't use any more money you're given for yourselves, instead hand it over to others to repair the Temple.” 8 The priests agreed not to receive any more money from the people, and that they wouldn't carry out the repairs to the Temple themselves. 9 Jehoiada the priest took a large wooden box, cut a hole in its lid, and placed it on the right side of the altar next to the entrance to the Lord's Temple. There the priests who guarded the doorway put all the money brought into the Lord's Temple into the collection box. 10 Whenever they saw there was a lot of money in the box, the king's secretary and the high priest would come, count the money brought into the Lord's Temple, and put it into bags. 11 Then they weighed out the money and gave it to the supervisors of the work on the Lord's Temple. They paid the ones doing the work—the carpenters, builders, 12 masons, and stonecutters. They also bought the timber and blocks of cut stone needed for the repair of the Lord's Temple, and paid all the other costs of restoring the Temple. 13 However, the money collected for the Lord's Temple was not used for making silver basins, lamp trimmers, bowls, trumpets, or any items of gold or silver for the Lord's Temple. 14 It was used to pay the workers doing the repairs to the Lord's Temple. 15 No accounts were demanded from the men who received the money to pay the workers because they did everything honestly. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not collected for the Lord's Temple because it belonged to the priests. 17 Around this time Hazael, king of Aram, went and attacked Gath, and captured it. Then he marched to attack Jerusalem. 18 So King Joash of Judah took all the holy objects dedicated by his forefathers Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah, along with all the items he had dedicated himself, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the Lord's Temple and the royal palace, and he sent everything to Hazael, king of Aram. So Hazael retreated from Jerusalem. 19 The rest of what happened in Joash's reign and all that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. 20 His officials plotted against him and murdered him at Beth Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla. 21 The officials who attacked and killed him were Jozacar, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer. They buried him with his forefathers in the City of David. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.