2 Kings 12; 2 Kings 13

1 Joash became king of Judah. It was in the seventh year of Jehu's rule. Joash ruled in Jerusalem for 40 years. His mother's name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba.

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.

12 They paid those who cut stones and those who laid them. They bought lumber and blocks of stone. So they used the money to repair the LORD's temple. They also paid all of the other costs to make the temple like new again.

13 The money the people brought to the LORD's temple wasn't used to make silver bowls. It wasn't used for wick cutters, sprinkling bowls or trumpets. And it wasn't used for any other articles made out of gold or silver.

14 Instead, it was paid to the workers. They used it to repair the temple.

15 The royal secretary and the high priest didn't require a report from those who were in charge of the work. That's because they were completely honest. They always paid the workers.

16 Money was received from those who brought guilt offerings and sin offerings. But it wasn't taken to the LORD's temple. It belonged to the priests.

17 About that time Hazael, the king of Aram, went up and attacked Gath. Then he captured it. After that, he turned back to attack Jerusalem.

18 But Joash, the king of Judah, didn't want to go to war. So he got all of the sacred objects. They had been set apart to the LORD by the kings who had ruled over Judah before him. They were Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah. Joash got the gifts he himself had set apart. He got all of the gold that was among the temple treasures. He also got all of the gold from the royal palace. He sent all of those things to Hazael, the king of Aram. Then Hazael pulled his army back from Jerusalem.

19 The other events of the rule of Joash are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

20 The officials of Joash made evil plans against him. They killed him at Beth Millo. It happened on the road that goes down to Silla.

21 The officials who murdered him were Jozabad and Jehozabad. Jozabad was the son of Shimeath. Jehozabad was the son of Shomer. After Joash died, his body was buried in the family tomb in the City of David. His son Amaziah became the next king after him.

1 Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 23rd year of Joash, the king of Judah. Jehoahaz ruled for 17 years. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoahaz was the son of Jehu.

2 Jehoahaz did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He committed the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins. Jehoahaz didn't turn away from them.

3 So the LORD's anger burned against Israel. For a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael, the king of Aram. He also kept them under the power of his son Ben-Hadad.

4 Then Jehoahaz asked the LORD to show him his favor. The LORD listened to him. The LORD saw how badly the king of Aram was treating Israel.

5 The LORD provided someone to save Israel. And they escaped from the power of Aram. So the people of Israel lived in their own homes, just as they had before.

6 But the people didn't turn away from the sins of the royal house of Jeroboam. He had caused Israel to commit those same sins. The people continued to commit them. And the pole that was used to worship the goddess Asherah remained standing in Samaria.

7 The army of Jehoahaz had almost nothing left. All it had was 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 soldiers on foot. The king of Aram had destroyed the rest of them. He had made them like dust at threshing time.

8 The other events of the rule of Jehoahaz are written down. Everything he did and accomplished is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

9 Jehoahaz joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash became the next king after him.

10 Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 37th year that Joash was king of Judah. Jehoash ruled for 16 years. He was the son of Jehoahaz.

11 Jehoash did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn't turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins. And Jehoash continued to commit them.

12 The other events of the rule of Jehoash are written down. Everything he did and accomplished is written down. That includes his war against Amaziah, the king of Judah. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

13 Jehoash joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria. Jeroboam became the next king on Israel's throne after him.

14 Elisha was suffering from a sickness. Later he would die from it. Jehoash, the king of Israel, went down to see him. He sobbed over him. "My father!" he cried. "You are like a father to me! You are the true chariots and horsemen of Israel!"

15 Elisha said to Jehoash, "Get a bow and some arrows." So he did.

16 "Hold the bow in your hands," Elisha said to the king of Israel. So Jehoash took hold of the bow. Then Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.

17 "Open the east window," Elisha said. So he did. "Shoot!" Elisha said. So he shot. "That's the LORD's arrow!" Elisha announced. "It means you will win the battle over Aram! You will completely destroy the men of Aram at Aphek."

18 He continued, "Get some arrows." So the king did. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times. Then he stopped.

19 The man of God was angry with him. He said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have won the war over Aram. You would have completely destroyed them. But now you will win only three battles over them."

20 Elisha died. And his body was buried. Some robbers from Moab used to enter the country of Israel every spring.

21 One day some people of Israel were burying a man's body. Suddenly they saw a group of robbers. So they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. The body touched Elisha's bones. When it did, the man came back to life again. He stood up on his feet.

22 Hazael, the king of Aram, treated Israel badly. He did it the whole time Jehoahaz was king.

23 But the LORD showed his favor to Israel. He was tender and kind to them. He showed concern for them. He did all of those things because of the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this very day he hasn't been willing to destroy them. And he hasn't driven them out of his land.

24 Hazael, the king of Aram, died. His son Ben-Hadad became the next king after him.

25 Then Jehoash took some towns back from Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael. Ben-Hadad had captured them in battle from Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash. Jehoash won three battles over Ben-Hadad. So Jehoash took back the Israelite towns.