Joash (Jehoash) Reigns over Judah

1In the seventh year of Jehu [king of Israel], [a]Jehoash became king [over Judah], and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3Only the high places were not removed; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense [to the LORD] on the high places [rather than at the temple].

The Temple to Be Repaired

4Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money for the dedicated things which is brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, both the money of each man’s assessment [for all those bound by vows], and all the money which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house (temple) of the LORD, 5let the priests receive such contributions for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair any breach in the house of the LORD, wherever a breach is found.”

6But it came about in the twenty-third year of [the reign of] King Jehoash, that the priests still had not repaired the damages of the LORD’S house. 7Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest and the [other] priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the damage of the house (temple)? Now then, do not take any more money from your acquaintances, but turn it all over for [the repair of] the damages of the house.” [You are no longer responsible for this work. I will take it into my own hands.] 8So the priests agreed that they would receive no [more] money from the people, nor [be responsible to] repair the damages of the house.

9Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the house of the LORD; and the priests who guarded the door put in the chest all the money that was brought [by the people] into the house of the LORD. 10And whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and tied it in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. 11Then they gave the money, which was weighed out into the hands of those who were doing the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house (temple) of the LORD, 12and to the masons and stonecutters, and to buy timber and hewn (cut) stone to repair any breach in the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for repairing the house. 13However, there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any gold containers or [other] silver containers, from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD; 14but they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD. 15Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hands they placed the money to be paid to those who did the work, for they acted in good faith. 16Money from the guilt offerings and money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD [for repairs]; it was for the priests.

17Then Hazael king of Aram (Syria) went up, fought against Gath [in Philistia], and captured it. And Hazael [b]resolved to go up to Jerusalem. 18So Jehoash the king of Judah took all the sacred things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house (temple) of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Aram; and Hazael departed from Jerusalem.

Joash (Jehoash) Succeeded by Amaziah in Judah

19Now the rest of the acts of Joash and everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20His servants arose and formed a [c]conspiracy [against him] and struck down Joash [in revenge] at the house of Millo, [on the way] that goes down to Silla. 21For Jozacar (Jozachar) the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died; and they buried Joash with his fathers in the City of David. Amaziah his son became king in his place.

[a] 1 Judah and Israel each had a king named Joash or Jehoash, and the Hebrew uses the two forms of the name interchangeably. Since the times of their reigns overlapped, it is easy to confuse them. The same potential confusion exists with the name JoramJehoram.
[b] 17 Lit set his face.
[c] 20 Joash was responsible for the murder of the high priest Zechariah the son of Jehoiada.