2. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived that way as long as the priest Jehoiada was teaching him.
3. But the high places weren't removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
4. Joash spoke to the priests. He said, "Collect all of the money the people bring as sacred offerings to the Lord's temple. That includes the money that is collected when the men who are able to serve in the army are counted. It includes the money that is received from people who make a special promise to the Lord. It also includes the money people bring to the temple just because they want to.
5. "Let each priest receive the money from one of the people who are in charge of the temple's treasures. Let all of that money be used to repair the temple where it needs it."
6. It was now the 23rd year of King Joash. And the priests still hadn't repaired the temple.
7. So the king sent for the priest Jehoiada and the other priests. He asked them, "Why aren't you repairing the temple where it needs it? Don't take any more money from the people who are in charge of the treasures. Instead, hand it over so the temple can be repaired."
8. The priests agreed that they wouldn't collect any more money from the people. They also agreed that they wouldn't repair the temple themselves.
9. The priest Jehoiada got a chest. He drilled a hole in its lid. He placed the chest beside the altar for burnt offerings. The chest was on the right side as people enter the Lord's temple. Some priests guarded the entrance. They put into the chest all of the money the people brought to the temple.
10. From time to time there was a large amount of money in the chest. When that happened, the royal secretary and the high priest came. They counted the money the people had brought to the temple. Then they put it into bags.
11. After they added it all up, they used it to repair the temple. They gave it to the men who had been put in charge of the work. Those men used it to pay the workers. They paid the builders and those who worked with wood.