1. Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he ruled forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba.
2. Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive.
3. Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and Joash had sons and daughters.
4. Later, Joash decided to repair the Temple of the Lord.
5. He called the priests and the Levites together and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and gather the money all the Israelites have to pay every year. Use it to repair the Temple of your God. Do this now.” But the Levites did not hurry.
6. So King Joash called for Jehoiada the leading priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you made the Levites bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax money that Moses, the Lord’s servant, and the people of Israel used for the Holy Tent?”
7. In the past the sons of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God and used its holy things for worshiping the Baal idols.
8. King Joash commanded that a box for contributions be made. They put it outside, at the gate of the Temple of the Lord.