2 Kings 12
A Chest with a Hole in the Lid
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Joash King of Judah
12:1Joash was seven years old when he became king.
12:2In Jehu’s seventh year Joash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abia of Beersheba.
12:3Joash did what was upright before the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest enlightened him.
12:4Yet the high places were not removed, and the people were still sacrificing and burning incense there at the high places.
The Silver for the Repair of the House
12:5Joash said to the priests, ‘All the silver of the holy things received into the Lord’s house—silver of assessment, each man taking silver of assessment, and all silver that may arise in a man’s heart to bring into the Lord’s house—
12:6let the priests receive it for themselves, each from their sale, and they shall strengthen the bedek of the house wherever bedek is found.’
12:7In the twenty-third year of King Joash, the priests had not strengthened the bedek of the house.
12:8King Joash called Jehoiada the priest and the priests and said to them, ‘Why are you not strengthening the bedek of the house? Now take no silver from your sales, but give it for the bedek of the house.’
12:9The priests agreed neither to take silver from the people nor to strengthen the bedek of the house.
12:10Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its board, and placed it beside Iamibin, in the house of a man of the Lord’s house. The priests guarding the doorpost put in all the silver found in the Lord’s house.
12:11Whenever they saw that there was much silver in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up. They bound up and counted the silver found in the Lord’s house.
12:12They placed the prepared silver in the hands of those doing the work, the overseers of the Lord’s house. They paid it out to the carpenters and builders working on the Lord’s house,
12:13to the wall builders and stone quarriers, to acquire timber and quarried stones to make firm the bedek of the Lord’s house, for everything spent on strengthening the house.
12:14But silver doors, nails, bowls, trumpets, or any gold or silver vessel were not to be made for the Lord’s house from the silver brought into the Lord’s house.
12:15They would give it to those doing the work, and with it they strengthened the Lord’s house.
12:16They did not call the men to account into whose hands they placed the silver to give to those doing the work, for they acted in their trustworthiness.
12:17Silver for sin and silver for trespass, whatever was brought into the Lord’s house, belonged to the priests.
Hazael Turns Against Jerusalem
12:18Then Hazael king of Syria went up, fought against Gath, and seized it. Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.
12:19Joash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat, Joram, and Ahaziah, his fathers and kings of Judah, had consecrated, his own holy things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the Lord’s house and the king’s house. He sent them to Hazael king of Syria, and he went away from Jerusalem.
The Conspiracy Against Joash
12:20The rest of the acts of Joash, and everything he did—look, are these not written in the book of the daily records for the kings of Judah?
12:21His slaves rose, bound together a conspiracy, and struck Joash in the house of Mallo in Gaalla.
12:22Jezichar son of Jemuath and Jezebuth—his son Shomer—his slaves, struck him, and he died. They buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son became king in his place.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.