2 Kings — Chapter 12
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1In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.
2And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days he was instructed by Jehoiada the priest.
3Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.
4Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house of the LORD.
5Let every priest receive it from his constituency, and let it be used to repair any damage found in the temple.”
6By the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, however, the priests had not yet repaired the damage to the temple.
7So King Joash called Jehoiada and the other priests and said, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, therefore, take no more money from your constituency, but hand it over for the repair of the temple.”
8So the priests agreed that they would not receive money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
9Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the house of the LORD. There the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money brought into the house of the LORD.
10Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of the LORD, and tie it up in bags.
11Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of the LORD, who in turn would pay those doing the work—the carpenters, builders,
12masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.
13However, the money brought into the house of the LORD was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of the LORD.
14Instead, it was paid to those doing the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.
15No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay the workmen, because they acted with integrity.
16The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.
17At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
18So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
19As for the rest of the acts of Joash, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.
21His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.
1In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
3But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD,
5Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.
6But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.
8And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house.
9But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.
10And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD.
11And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD,
12And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
13Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD:
14But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.
15Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.
16The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: 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.
18And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
19And 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?
20And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.
21For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
1In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother`s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
3Howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of Jehovah, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it cometh into any man`s heart to bring into the house of Jehovah,
5let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.
6But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the [other] priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore take no [more] money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.
8And the priests consented that they should take no [more] money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.
9But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of Jehovah: and the priests that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah.
10And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king`s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Jehovah.
11And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, that wrought upon the house of Jehovah,
12and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
13But there were not made for the house of Jehovah cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah;
14for they gave that to them that did the work, and repaired therewith the house of Jehovah.
15Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully.
16The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Jehovah: 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.
18And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, 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, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash at the house of Millo, [on the way] that goeth down to Silla.
21For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
1(12:2) In Jehu’s seventh year Jehoash became king; he reigned for 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba.
2Jehoash did what the Lord approved all his days when Jehoiada the priest taught him.
3But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.
4Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, the silver received from those who have made vows, and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple.
5The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.”
6By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple.
7So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.”
8The priests agreed not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs.
9Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple.
10When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up.
11They would then hand over the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the Lord’s temple,
12as well as masons and stonecutters. They bought wood and chiseled stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple and also paid for all the other expenses.
13The silver brought to the Lord’s temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements.
14It was handed over to the foremen who used it to repair the Lord’s temple.
15They did not audit the treasurers who disbursed the funds to the foremen, for they were honest.
16(The silver collected in conjunction with reparation offerings and sin offerings was not brought to the Lord’s temple; it belonged to the priests.)
17At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem.
18King Jehoash of Judah collected all the sacred items that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had consecrated, as well as his own sacred items and all the gold that could be found in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He sent it all to King Hazael of Syria, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.
19The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
20His servants conspired against him and murdered Joash at Beth Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla.
21His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him. He was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Amaziah replaced him as king.
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 don’t you repair 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.
Summary
Joash becomes king of Judah at age seven after being hidden in the temple during Athaliah's purge, and does what is right throughout the years the priest Jehoiada instructs him, though the high places are never removed (vv. 1-3). Finding that the priests have collected temple-repair funds for years without making repairs, Joash sets up a chest by the altar so offerings go directly toward paying the workmen, who carry out the repairs with such integrity that no formal accounting of the funds is required (vv. 4-16). When Hazael of Syria threatens Jerusalem, Joash strips the temple and palace treasuries of gold to buy him off rather than face him in battle (vv. 17-18). The chapter closes with Joash's own officials conspiring against him and assassinating him, after which his son Amaziah reigns in his place (vv. 19-21).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Samaria — capital of the northern kingdom (Israel); falls to Assyria in 722 BC (ch.17). Jerusalem — capital of Judah; falls to Babylon in 586 BC (ch.25).
- Key locations: Jordan River (Elisha's miracles, chs.2, 5), Damascus (Syria/Aram), Nineveh (Assyrian capital), Babylon (where Judah is exiled).
- Sennacherib's invasion route threatens Jerusalem (chs.18-19). Exile destinations: Assyria (for Israel) and Babylon (for Judah).
Places on this map
- SamariaSebastia, West BankOmri bought a bare hill and built a capital on it, which gave the northern kingdom a fortress with no prior claim on it, the same calculation David made with Jerusalem. It commands the pass west toward the coastal plain. The name later spread to the whole region between Galilee and Judea. Wikipedia
- Assyrianorthern IraqThe upper Tigris heartland around Nineveh, Calah and Asshur. Its armies reached Israel by following the Fertile Crescent north-west and then south down the coast, so the threat always arrived from the north even though Assyria lay to the east. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia
- Jordan RiverIsrael / Jordan borderRuns about 65 miles as the crow flies from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping from 700 to 1,400 feet below sea level. Narrow enough to wade at most fords, it was still the boundary that divided wilderness from inheritance. Wikipedia
- DamascusDamascus, SyriaAn oasis city where the Barada river runs out of the Anti-Lebanon into the desert, about 135 miles north-east of Jerusalem. It sat astride the caravan roads to Mesopotamia and Arabia, which made Aram rich and made it Israel's most persistent northern rival. Wikipedia
- NinevehMosul, IraqAssyria's last capital, on the east bank of the Tigris across from modern Mosul, about 500 miles north-east of Israel. Sennacherib walled in an enormous city here, which is the scale behind Jonah's three days' journey and its 120,000 who cannot tell right from left. Wikipedia
- AramSyriaThe Syrian interior north-east of Israel, a set of city-states rather than one kingdom, with Damascus the strongest. Aramaic, its language, became the everyday speech of the whole region including Judea. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes the tragedy of dependent faith: Joash was righteous only while Jehoiada lived. This is the danger of faith that relies on a mentor, pastor, or spiritual leader rather than developing personal conviction. Guzik notes that the priests' failure to repair the Temple for twenty-three years reveals how institutions can absorb resources without producing results — requiring accountability and structural reform.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 2 Kings -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Righteousness Borrowed From a Mentor (v.2) — Joash did right only as long as Jehoiada was there to instruct him, revealing that his faith was inherited rather than his own. Is your walk with God rooted in your own conviction, or is it leaning on a pastor, parent, or mentor who could someday be gone?
- Collecting Funds Without Doing the Work (vv.6-9) — The priests take in Temple-repair offerings for over two decades without ever making the repairs, until Joash creates a transparent system to fix it. Where in your own responsibilities have good intentions substituted for actually finishing the work?
- Trusted Enough to Skip the Audit (v.15) — The workmen handle the money so faithfully that no one even checks their accounting. What would it look like for your reputation for integrity to be so well-established that people simply trust you?
- Trading Treasure for Safety Under Threat (vv.17-18) — Facing Hazael's advance, Joash strips the very Temple he restored and hands its gold over rather than seeking God as later kings will. When you're afraid, do you turn first to God or to whatever you can offer up to make the threat go away?
- A Promising Start That Ends in Betrayal (vv.19-21) — The boy once hidden and saved by a priest's family dies at the hands of his own servants after turning against that same family. Does your life show a trajectory of finishing well, or has your walk with God quietly drifted from where it started?