17And Jehoiada solemnized the covenant between the LORD, on the one hand, and the king and the people, on the other—as well as between the king and the people—that they should be the people of the LORD. 18Thereupon all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal. They tore it down and smashed its altars and images to bits, and they slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. [Jehoiada] the priest then placed guards over the House of the LORD. 19He took the chiefs of hundreds, the Carites,d the guards, and all the people of the land, and they escorted the king from the House of the LORD into the royal palace by the gate of the guards. And he ascended the royal throne. 20All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. As for Athaliah, she had been put to the sword in the royal palace.
12 Jehoash was seven years old when he became king. 2Jehoash began his reign in the seventh year of Jehu, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 3All his days Jehoash did what was pleasing to the LORD, as the priest Jehoiada instructed him. 4The shrines, however, were not removed; the people continued to sacrifice and offer at the shrines.
5Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money, current money, brought into the House of the LORD as sacred donations—a-any money a man may pay as the money equivalent of persons,-a or any other money that a man may be minded to bring to the House of the LORD—6let the priests receive it, each from his benefactor; they, in turn, shall make repairs on the House, wherever damage may be found.”
7But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, [it was found that] the priests had not made the repairs on the House. 8So King Jehoash summoned the priest Jehoiada and the other priests and said to them, “Why have you not kept the House in repair? Now do not accept money from your benefactors any more, but have it donated for the repair of the House.” 9The priests agreed that they would neither accept money from the people nor make repairs on the House.
10And the priest Jehoiada took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it at the right side of the altar as one entered the House of the LORD, and the priestly guards of the threshold deposited there all the money that was brought into the House of the LORD. 11Whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would come up and put the money accumulated in the House of the LORD into bags, and they would count it. 12Then they would deliver the money b-that was weighed out-b to the overseers of the work, who were in charge of the House of the LORD. These, in turn, used to pay the carpenters and the laborers who worked on the House of the LORD, 13and the masons and the stonecutters. They also paid for wood and for quarried stone with which to make the repairs on the House of the LORD, and for every other expenditure that had to be made in repairing the House. 14However, no silver bowls and no snuffers, basins, or trumpets— no vessels of gold or silver—were made at the House of the LORD from the money brought into the House of the LORD; 15this was given only to the overseers of the work for the repair of the House of the LORD. 16No check was kept on the men to whom the money was delivered to pay the workers; for they dealt honestly.
17Money brought c-as a guilt offering or as a sin offering-c was not deposited in the House of the LORD; it went to the priests.
18At that time, King Hazael of Aram came up and attacked Gath and captured it; and Hazael proceeded to march on Jerusalem. 19Thereupon King Joash of Judah took all the objects that had been consecrated by his fathers, Kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah of Judah, and by himself, and all the gold that there was in the treasuries of the Temple of the LORD and in the royal palace, and he sent them to King Hazael of Aram, who then turned back from his march on Jerusalem.
20The other events of Joash’s reign, and all his actions, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 21His courtiers formed a conspiracy against Joash and assassinated him at Beth-millo b-that leads down to Silla.-b 22The courtiers who assassinated him were Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his fathers in the City of David; and his son Amaziah succeeded him as king.
13 In the twenty-third year of King Joash son of Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria—for seventeen years. 2He did what was displeasing to the LORD. He persisted in the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not depart from them. 3The LORD was angry with Israel and He repeatedly delivered them into the hands of King Hazael of Aram and into the hands of Ben-hadad son of Hazael. 4But Jehoahaz pleaded with the LORD; and the LORD listened to him, for He saw the suffering that the king of Aram inflicted upon Israel. 5So the LORD granted Israel a deliverer, and they gained their freedom from Aram; and Israel dwelt in its homes as before. 6However, they did not depart from the sins which the House of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit; they persisted in them. Even the sacred post stood in Samaria. 7aIn fact, Jehoahaz was left with a force of only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Aram had decimated them and trampled them like the dust under his feet.
8The other events of Jehoahaz’s reign, and all his actions and his exploits, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 9Jehoahaz slept with his fathers and he was buried in Samaria; his son Joash succeeded him as king.
10In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria—for sixteen years. 11He did what was displeasing to the LORD; he did not depart from any of the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he persisted in them.
12The other events of Joash’s reign, and all his actions, and his exploits in his war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 13Joash slept with his fathers and Jeroboam occupied his throne; Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
14Elisha had been stricken with the illness of which he was to die, and King Joash of Israel went down to see him. He wept over him and cried, “Father, father! b-Israel’s chariots and horsemen!”-b 15Elisha said to him, “Get a bow and arrows”; and he brought him a bow and arrows. 16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Grasp the bow!” And when he had grasped it, Elisha put his hands over the king’s hands. 17“Open the window toward the east,” he said; and he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. Then he said, “An arrow of victory for the LORD! An arrow of victory over Aram! You shall rout Aram completely at Aphek.” 18He said, “Now pick up the arrows.” And he picked them up. “Strike the ground!” he said to the king of Israel; and he struck three times and stopped. 19The man of God was angry with him and said to him, c-“If only you had struck-c five or six times! Then you would have annihilated Aram; as it is, you shall defeat Aram only three times.”
20Elisha died and he was buried. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land d-at the coming of every year.-d 21Once a man was being buried, when the people caught sight of such a band; so they threw the corpsee into Elisha’s grave and f-made off.-f When the [dead] man came in contact with Elisha’s bones, he came to life and stood up.
22King Hazael of Aram had oppressed the Israelites throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23But the LORD was gracious and merciful to them, and He turned back to them for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He refrained from destroying them, and He still did not cast them out from His presence. 24When King Hazael of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad succeeded him as king; 25and then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recovered from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns which had been taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Three times Joash defeated him, and
