2 Kings 12

KJV · Chapter 12/25

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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Joash, guided by the priest Jehoiada in his youth, establishes an organized system for raising funds to repair the temple, using a chest with a hole in the lid. Later, to avoid a Syrian invasion, he uses the temple's sacred treasures as tribute to Hazael. He is assassinated by his own servants.

Explanation

Joash's reign shows a common pattern in the Bible: kings who are faithful while guided by a strong spiritual mentor (Jehoiada), but who waver after that influence disappears. The transparent fundraising system for the temple, with careful accounting but trust in the workers, is an interesting model of financial management based on both accountability and personal integrity. The use of the sacred treasures to buy peace with an enemy, instead of trusting God, repeats a troubling pattern also seen with King Asa (1 Kings 15).

Fun facts

2 Chronicles 24:17-22 adds an important detail: after Jehoiada's death, Joash returned to idolatry and ordered the execution of Zechariah, son of the very Jehoiada who had saved him as a baby — a betrayal that helps explain why he was later assassinated in a conspiracy.
The system of voluntary donations with a collection chest used here is one of the earliest detailed biblical examples of a formal, transparent fundraising system for the maintenance of a religious building.

Verse-by-verse explanation

2 Kings 12:1Joash begins to reign over Judah (southern kingdom) in the seventh year of Jehu in Israel (north), and reigns forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.
2 Kings 12:2Joash does what is right as long as the priest Jehoiada guides him closely — his good conduct depends directly on this mentorship.
2 Kings 12:3The one flaw in Joash's reform is that he doesn't remove the high places, the shrines outside the temple where the people kept on sacrificing on their own.
2 Kings 12:4Joash sets up a system of voluntary giving: a chest with a hole in its lid receives the people's money, counted by the scribe and the high priest together, with no individual accounting required because the men in charge dealt faithfully. It's a rare biblical account of a publicly organized fundraising project run with transparency.
2 Kings 12:5The priests are put in charge of receiving the money brought to the temple, each from his own acquaintances, and using it to repair the damage to the building.
2 Kings 12:6After twenty-three years of his reign, the priests still hadn't repaired anything in the temple — the money wasn't being well managed.
2 Kings 12:7Joash confronts Jehoiada and the other priests, demanding to know why the repairs never got off the ground, and changes the system: stop receiving money directly and hand it all over for the repairs.
2 Kings 12:8The priests agree to stop collecting money directly and to no longer be responsible for the repairs — the new centralized system takes over that role.
2 Kings 12:9Jehoiada makes a chest with a hole in its lid, placed near the altar, where the priests who guard the door deposit all the money the people bring to the temple.
2 Kings 12:10When the chest is full, the king's scribe and the high priest go up together to count and bag the money — a double-check system.
2 Kings 12:11The money, weighed and counted, is handed over to those in charge of the work, who distribute it to the carpenters and builders responsible for the temple repairs.
2 Kings 12:12The money also pays masons and stonecutters, and buys timber and cut stone — everything needed to repair the breaches in the building.
2 Kings 12:13Note that this money never becomes cups, forks, basins, trumpets, or vessels of gold and silver for the temple — it serves only for the repairs, with no diversion of funds.
2 Kings 12:14The entire amount collected goes straight to the workers carrying out the repair work on the temple.
2 Kings 12:15No accounting is required from the men in charge of the money, because they dealt faithfully — a rare biblical example of public management based on trust.
2 Kings 12:16Money from guilt offerings and sin offerings doesn't go into this repair fund; that is kept separate, reserved for the priests themselves.
2 Kings 12:17Just as Asa did with Syria in 1 Kings 15, Joash hands over sacred gold to a foreign king to avert an attack. It's a short-term solution that empties the temple treasury right after it had been so carefully restored.
2 Kings 12:18Joash hands over to Hazael, king of Syria, the sacred objects consecrated by earlier kings of Judah and all the gold from the treasuries of the temple and the palace, to avert an attack; Hazael then withdraws from Jerusalem.
2 Kings 12:19The closing formula points to the chronicles of the kings of Judah (southern kingdom) as the source for the rest of Joash's deeds.
2 Kings 12:20After decades of a relatively good reign, Joash dies in a palace conspiracy carried out by his own officials. The text doesn't explain the exact motive, leaving open whether it was revenge for another death told in Chronicles or some internal dispute.
2 Kings 12:21The text names the two officials, Jozachar and Jehozabad, who killed Joash; he is buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Amaziah takes the throne.

Chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App Store Google Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App Store Google Play