2 Kings 12 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah, from Beersheba.

Joash did what was right in Yahweh’s eyes the entire time Jehoiada the priest guided him.

However, the hilltop shrines were not removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at those shrines.

Joash said to the priests, “All the money that is brought as dedicated offerings into Yahweh’s house — the money collected from each person’s census assessment, the money from personal vows, and any money someone feels moved to bring to Yahweh’s house —

the priests are to receive it, each from his own contacts. And they are to use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash, the priests still had not repaired any of the damage to the temple.

So King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why haven’t you been repairing the damage to the temple? From now on, you may no longer keep the money from your contacts. You must hand it over for the temple repairs.”

The priests agreed not to collect money from the people anymore and not to be responsible for the repairs themselves.

Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, drilled a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as you enter Yahweh’s house. The priests who guarded the entrance put all the money brought into Yahweh’s house into it.

Whenever they saw the chest was full of money, the king’s secretary and the high priest would come up, count the money that had been brought into Yahweh’s house, and bag it up.

Then they would hand the counted money over to the foremen supervising the work on Yahweh’s house. Those foremen paid the carpenters and builders working on the temple,

as well as the masons and stonecutters. They also used it to buy timber and quarried stone for repairing the damage to Yahweh’s house — covering every expense that came up in the restoration.

However, none of the money brought into Yahweh’s house was used to make silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any gold or silver vessels for the temple.

It was all given to the workers, and they used it to repair Yahweh’s house.

They did not require an accounting from the men who received the money to pay the workers, because they dealt with complete integrity.

Money from guilt offerings and money from reconciliation offerings was not brought into Yahweh’s house. It went to the priests.

Around that time, King Hazael of Aram marched against Gath and captured it. Then Hazael turned to attack Jerusalem.

So King Joash of Judah took all the items that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah — kings of Judah — had dedicated, along with everything he himself had dedicated, plus all the gold found in the treasuries of Yahweh’s house and the royal palace, and sent it all to King Hazael of Aram. And Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.

As for the rest of what Joash did — everything he accomplished — isn’t it all written in the official records of the kings of Judah?

His own officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.

The officials who struck him down were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died, and they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Amaziah became king in his place.