1. Joash became king of Judah in Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel. Joash ruled for 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba.
2. Joash did what the Lord said was right all the time Jehoiada the priest taught him.
3. But the places where false gods were worshiped were not removed. The people still made sacrifices and burned incense there.
4. Joash said to the priests, “Take all the money brought as offerings to the Temple of the Lord. This includes the money each person owes in taxes. It also includes the money each person promises or brings to the Lord because he wants to.
5. Each priest must take the money from the people he serves. Then the priests must repair any damage they find in the Temple.”
6. But by the twenty-third year of Joash the priests still had not repaired the Temple.
7. So King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests. He said to them, “Why are you not repairing the damage of the Temple? Don’t take any more money from the people you serve. But hand over the money for the repair of the Temple.”
8. The priests agreed not to take any more money from the people. And they agreed not to repair the Temple themselves.
9. But Jehoiada the priest took a box and made a hole in the top of it. Then he put it by the altar. It was on the right side as the people came into the Temple of the Lord. The priests guarding the doorway put all the money brought to the Temple of the Lord into the box.
10. Each time the priests saw that the box was full of money, the king’s royal assistant and the high priest came. They counted the money that had been brought to the Temple of the Lord. Then they put it into bags.
11. Next they weighed the money. They gave it to the men who were in charge of the work on the Temple. With it they paid the carpenters and the builders who worked on the Temple of the Lord.
12. They also paid the stoneworkers and stonecutters. They used the money to buy timber and cut stone. The money was used to repair the damage of the Temple of the Lord. It paid for everything.
13. The money brought into the Temple of the Lord was not used to make silver cups. It was not used for wick trimmers, bowls or trumpets. And it wasn’t used for any gold or silver vessels.
14. They paid the money to the workers. And the workers used it to repair the Temple of the Lord.