2 Kings 12-13

English Standard Version

12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash^[a] began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ Nevertheless, ^(A)the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.

Jehoash Repairs the Temple

⁴ Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things ^(B)that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and ^(C)the money that a man's heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, ⁵ let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” ⁶ But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. ⁷ Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” ⁸ So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.

⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest took ^(D)a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. ¹⁰ And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted ^(E)the money that was found in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, ¹² and ^(F)to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. ^13 (G)But there were not made for the house of the Lord ^(H)basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, ¹⁴ for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. ¹⁵ And ^(I)they did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. ¹⁶ The money from ^(J)the guilt offerings and the money from the ^(K)sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; ^(L)it belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ At that time ^(M)Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it. But when Hazael set his face ^(N)to go up against Jerusalem, ¹⁸ Jehoash king of Judah ^(O)took all the sacred gifts that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, ^(P)and his own sacred gifts, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent these to Hazael king of Syria. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.

The Death of Joash

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^20 (Q)His servants arose and made a conspiracy ^(R)and struck down Joash in the house of ^(S)Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. ²¹ It was ^(T)Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of ^(U)Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, ^(V)and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. ² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(W)which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. ^3 (X)And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of ^(Y)Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of ^(Z)Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. ⁴ Then Jehoahaz ^(AA)sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, ^(AB)for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. ⁵ (Therefore the Lord gave Israel ^(AC)a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in ^(AD)their homes as formerly. ⁶ Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, ^(AE)which he made Israel to sin, but walked^[b] in them; and ^(AF)the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) ⁷ For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust ^(AG)at threshing. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁹ So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.

Jehoash Reigns in Israel

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash^[c] the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. ¹¹ He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(AH)which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. ^12 (AI)Now the rest of the acts of Joash ^(AJ)and all that he did, ^(AK)and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹³ So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

The Death of Elisha

¹⁴ Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, ^(AL)“My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. ¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in ^(AM)Aphek until you have made an end of them.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. ¹⁹ Then ^(AN)the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only ^(AO)three times.”

²⁰ So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of ^(AP)Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. ²¹ And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

^22 (AQ)Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ^23 (AR)But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, ^(AS)and he turned toward them, ^(AT)because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

²⁴ When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. ²⁵ Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities ^(AU)that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. ^(AV)Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.