2 Kings 12–14

1Jehoash began to reign in the seventh year of Jehu, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

2Jehoash did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

3However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.

4Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into Yahweh’s house, in current money, the money of the people for whom each man is evaluated, and all the money that it comes into any man’s heart to bring into Yahweh’s house,

5let the priests take it to them, each man from his donor; and they shall repair the damage to the house, wherever any damage is found.”

6But it was so, that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damage to the house.

7Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said to them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage to the house? Now therefore take no more money from your treasurers, but deliver it for repair of the damage to the house.”

8The priests consented that they should take no more money from the people, and not repair the damage to the house.

9But 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 comes into Yahweh’s house; and the priests who kept the threshold put all the money that was brought into Yahweh’s house into it.

10When they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put it in bags and counted the money that was found in Yahweh’s house.

11They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of Yahweh’s house; and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on Yahweh’s house,

12and to the masons and the stone cutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the damage to Yahweh’s house, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

13But there were not made for Yahweh’s house cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into Yahweh’s house;

14for they gave that to those who did the work, and repaired Yahweh’s house with it.

15Moreover they didn’t demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they dealt faithfully.

16The money for the trespass offerings and the money for the sin offerings was not brought into Yahweh’s house. It was the priests’.

17Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

18Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own holy things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and of the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria; and he went away from Jerusalem.

19Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

20His servants arose and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.

21For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in David’s city; and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

1In 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 for seventeen years.

2He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. He didn’t depart from it.

3Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, continually.

4Jehoahaz begged Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.

5(Yahweh gave Israel a savior, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel lived in their tents as before.

6Nevertheless they didn’t depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.)

7For he didn’t leave to Jehoahaz of the people any more than fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them and made them like the dust in threshing.

8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

9Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son reigned in his place.

10In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria for sixteen years.

11He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. He didn’t depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; but he walked in them.

12Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

13Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

15Elisha said to him, “Take bow and arrows;” and he took bow and arrows for himself.

16He said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow;” and he put his hand on it. Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.

17He said, “Open the window eastward;” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. He said, “Yahweh’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for you will strike the Syrians in Aphek until you have consumed them.”

18He said, “Take the arrows;” and he took them. He said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground;” and he struck three times, and stopped.

19The man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck Syria until you had consumed it, but now you will strike Syria just three times.”

20Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

21As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a band of raiders; and they threw the man into Elisha’s tomb. As soon as the man touched Elisha’s bones, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

22Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

23But Yahweh was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and favored them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them and he didn’t cast them from his presence as yet.

24Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his place.

25Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Joash struck him three times, and recovered the cities of Israel.

1In the second year of Joash, son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah began to reign.

2He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem.

3He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, yet not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done.

4However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.

5As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father,

6but the children of the murderers he didn’t put to death, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as Yahweh commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.”

7He killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel, to this day.

8Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let’s look one another in the face.”

9Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife.’ Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.

10You have indeed struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Enjoy the glory of it, and stay at home; for why should you meddle to your harm, that you fall, even you, and Judah with you?”

11But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

12Judah was defeated by Israel; and each man fled to his tent.

13Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh and came to Jerusalem, then broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

14He took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in Yahweh’s house and in the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

15Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

16Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

17Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years.

18Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

19They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.

20They brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in David’s city.

21All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.

22He built Elath and restored it to Judah. After that the king slept with his fathers.

23In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria for forty-one years.

24He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. He didn’t depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.

25He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to Yahweh, the God of Israel’s word, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath Hepher.

26For Yahweh saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter for all, slave and free; and there was no helper for Israel.

27Yahweh didn’t say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under the sky; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

28Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, for Israel, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

29Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.