Historical

Jehoash Restores the Temple

12 Jehoash was seven years old when he became king. ² Jehoash began his reign in the seventh year of Jehu and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ³ Now Jehoash did what was right in Adonai’s eyes all his days, just as Jehoiada the kohen instructed him. ⁴ The high places, however, were not taken away. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

⁵ Then Jehoash said to the kohanim, “All the money of the sacred donations brought to the House of Adonai—the money in exchange for each person’s valuation, as well as all the money that anyone’s heart prompts him to bring to the House of Adonai— ⁶ let the kohanim receive it, each from one of the treasurers, so they may repair the damage to the House wherever any damage is found.”

⁷ But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the kohanim still had not repaired the damage to the House. ⁸ Then King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the kohen and the other kohanim, and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the damage to the House? Now therefore, take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for the damage to the House.” ⁹ The kohanim agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor would they repair the damage of the House.

¹⁰ But Jehoiada the kohen took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one entered the House of Adonai. The priestly guards of the threshold deposited there all the money that was brought to the House of Adonai. ¹¹ Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the kohen gadol would come up, put the money in bags and count the money that was found in the House of Adonai. ¹² Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had been overseeing the House of Adonai—they, in turn, would pay it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the House of Adonai, ¹³ and to the masons and the stonecutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the damage to Adonai’s House, and for all that was laid out for the House to repair it.

¹⁴ But there were no silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, and no vessels of gold or vessels of silver made for the House of Adonai from the money brought to the House of Adonai. ¹⁵ For they gave it to those that did the work, and with it they repaired the House of Adonai. ¹⁶ They did not check on the men to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, for they dealt faithfully. ¹⁷ The money from the guilt offering and money from the sin offering was not brought into the House of Adonai—it was for the kohanim.

¹⁸ Then King Hazael of Aram marched and attacked Gath and captured it, and next Hazael set his face to march against Jerusalem. ¹⁹ But King Jehoash of Judah took all the sacred objects that his fathers Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred objects, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the House of Adonai and in the royal palace, and sent them to King Hazael of Aram, so he withdrew from Jerusalem.

²⁰ 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? ²¹ But his courtiers arose, conspired against him and assassinated Joash at Beth-Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. ²² His courtiers Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. Then they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. His son Amaziah became king in his place.

The Reign of Jehoahaz and Jehoash

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of King Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned 17 years. ² But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes—he continued in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit, and did not turn away from them. ³ So the anger of Adonai was kindled against Israel, and He continually gave them into the hand of King Hazael of Aram and into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael.

⁴ Then Jehoahaz sought Adonai’s face, so Adonai listened to him, for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. ⁵ Adonai gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans, and the men of Israel dwelt in their tents as they had before.

⁶ Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to commit, but walked in them—and the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria. ⁷ Indeed, Jehoahaz was not left with a force of more than 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and trampled them like dust when 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 Then Jehoahaz slept with his fathers and they buried him in Samaria. His son Joash became king in his place.

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned 16 years. ¹¹ But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit, but he walked in them. ¹² Now the rest of the events of Joash’s reign and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against King Amaziah of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹³ Then Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. So Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Victories as Elisha Dies

¹⁴ When Elisha got sick with his illness from which he would die, King Joash of Israel came down to him, wept over him and cried, “Avi, avi, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!”

¹⁵ Then Elisha said to him, “Take bow and arrows.” So he took bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Mount your hand on the bow!” So he mounted his hand on it. Elisha then laid his hands on the king’s hands, ¹⁷ and said, “Open the window to the east,” and then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. Then he said, “Adonai’s arrow of deliverance! Yes, an arrow of victory over Aram! You will strike down the Arameans in Aphek until they are demolished.” ¹⁸ Then he said, “Take the arrows!” and he took them. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” and he struck it three times, then stopped. ¹⁹ But the man of God was upset with him and said, “If only you had struck five or six times, then you would have annihilated Aram till you had consumed it. But now you will strike Aram only three times.”

²⁰ Then Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabite marauders used to invade the land at the spring of the year. ²¹ It came about, as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. As soon as the man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, he came back to life and stood up on his feet!

²² But King Hazael of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ Yet Adonai was gracious to them, had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So He was not willing to destroy them or cast them from His presence up to now. ²⁴ Then King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad became king in his place. ²⁵ Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz restored from the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns which he had taken out from the hand of his father Jehoahaz in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the towns of Israel.

Amaziah’s Demise

14 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah became king. ² He was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ³ Now he did what was right in the eyes of Adonai, yet not like his father David—he did like all his father Joash had done. ⁴ Still, the high places were not taken away. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.

⁵ Once the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his courtiers who had assassinated his father the king. ⁶ However, he did not execute the children of the assassins, keeping what is written in the Torah of Moses, where Adonai commanded saying, “The fathers will not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but each one will be put to death for his own sin.”

⁷ He struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, captured Sela in the battle, and renamed it Joktheel, as it is to this day.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come! Let’s meet face to face.”

⁹ But King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The briar in Lebanon sent word to the cedar in Lebanon saying: ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild beast in Lebanon passed by and trampled down the briar. ¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become arrogant. Glory and stay at home! Why should you provoke trouble and cause your own downfall—you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So King Jehoash of Israel advanced, and he and Amaziah king of Judah confronted each other at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² Judah was routed before Israel—they fled every man to his home. ¹³ King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash advanced to Jerusalem and breached the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—400 cubits. ¹⁴ He also took all the gold and silver and all the articles that were found in the House of Adonai and in the treasuries of the royal palace, as well as hostages, and returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹⁶ Then Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then his son Jeroboam became king in his place.

¹⁷ And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. ¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ¹⁹ They conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and assassinated him there. ²⁰ Then they brought his body back on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.

²¹ And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and proclaimed him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²² It was he who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after the previous king slept with his fathers.

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned 41 years. ²⁴ But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ It was he who restored Israel’s border from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, as was the word of Adonai, God of Israel, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

²⁶ For Adonai saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter and spared no one—whether bond or free—nor was there a helper for Israel. ²⁷ But Adonai did not say He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so He delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash. ²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his might, including how he fought and recovered Damascus and Hamath for Judah in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁹ Then Jeroboam slept with his fathers with the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah became king in his place.