2 Kings 12

1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash [Jehoash, God-supported king] became king, and he reigned [to rule, advise, or counsel as a king] in Jerusalem [city of peace, holy city] forty [a period of testing or trial] years. His mother’s name was Zibiah [gift of God, motherly gift]; she was from Beersheba [well of the oath, city of abundance]. word study 2 And Joash [Jehoash, having God’s gift] did what was right [just, upright] in the eyes [sight, perception] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] all the days [years, periods of time] he was instructed [guided, advised] by Jehoiada [spiritual leader] the priest. word study 3 Nevertheless, the high places [sacred hills, worship sites] were not removed [taken away, destroyed]; the people continued [still, yet] sacrificing [offering, making sacrifices] and burning incense [presenting burnt offerings] there [in those places, at those locations]. word study 4 Then Joash [also known as Jehoash] said to the priests, “Collect all the money [silver, sacred offerings] brought as sacred gifts [dedicated things, holy things] into the house of the LORD [the temple, God’s dwelling place]—the census money [the money of them that are under the count], the money from vows [the money that every man is set at], and the money brought voluntarily [freely, willingly] into the house of the LORD [as an act of worship]. word study 5 Let every priest [each minister of God] receive it from his constituency [those who know him, his acquaintances], and let it be used to repair [restore, make good] any damage [breach, decay] found in the temple [the house of the Lord, the Holy Place].” word study 6 By the twenty-third year [three and twentieth] of the reign [kingly rule] of Joash, however, the priests [spiritual leaders, those who serve God] had not yet repaired [made good, strengthened] the damage [breach, decay] to the temple [house of God, place of worship]. word study 7 So King Joash [the seventh king of Judah] called Jehoiada [the high priest] and the other priests [spiritual leaders, mediators between God and people] and said, “Why have you not [yet, up to this point] repaired [restored, made whole again] the damage [breach, gap] to the temple [the house of God, a place of worship]? Now, therefore, take no more money [funds, resources] from your constituency [acquaintances, those who know you], but hand it over [deliver, give] for the repair [restoration, renovation] of the temple [the house of the Lord].” word study 8 So the priests [the spiritual leaders, ministers of God] agreed that they would not receive [take, accept] money [silver, payment] from the people [their acquaintances, friends] and that they would not repair [strengthen, restore] the temple [the house of God, the place of worship] themselves [on their own, by their own efforts]. word study 9 Then Jehoiada the priest [minister of God, spiritual leader] took a chest [large wooden box, collection vessel], bored a hole [made an opening, breach] in its lid, and set it beside the altar [place of sacrifice, worship] on the right side as one enters the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [God, Yehovah]. There the priests [spiritual leaders, ministers] who guarded the threshold [entrance, doorway] put all the money [silver, wealth, offerings] brought into the house [temple, place of worship] of the LORD. word study 10 Whenever they saw that there was a large amount [much, abundant] of money [silver, wealth] in the chest [ark, money box], the royal [king’s] scribe and the high [supreme] priest would go up, count [tie up, put in bags] the money [funds, offerings] brought into the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], and tie it up in bags [to secure, for safekeeping]. word study 11 Then they would put the counted [weighed out, measured] money [silver, payment] into the hands of those who supervised [overseeing, in charge of] the work on the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], who in turn would pay those doing the work [laborers, workers]—the carpenters [woodworkers, craftsmen], builders [constructors, masons], word study 12 masons [skilled craftsmen, artisans], and stonecutters [hewers of stone]. They also purchased [bought, acquired] timber [wood, trees] and dressed stone [hewn stone, cut stones] to repair [restore, rebuild] the damage [breaches, decay] to the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], and they paid [gave, laid out] the other expenses [costs, outlays] of the temple [house of the Lord, sacred place] repairs [restoration, renovation]. word study 13 However, the money [collected] brought into the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] was not used for making [crafting, fashioning] silver [precious, valuable] basins [cups, vessels], wick trimmers [snuffers, instruments for cutting], sprinkling bowls [vessels for purification], trumpets [instruments for calling, signaling], or any articles [vessels, items] of gold [precious, highly valued] or silver [valuable, highly prized] for the house [temple, place of worship] of the LORD. word study 14 Instead [on the contrary, but rather], it was paid [given, handed over] to those doing [performing, executing] the work [labor, task], and with it [this money, these resources] they repaired [restored, renovated] the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah]. word study 15 No accounting [reckoning, financial settlement] was required from the men who received the money [funds, resources] to pay the workmen [laborers, those doing the work], because they acted with integrity [faithfully, in a trustworthy manner, dealing faithfully]. word study 16 The money [silver, payment] from the guilt offerings [trespass money, for atonement] and sin offerings [for purification, to make amends] was not [never] brought into the house [temple, sanctuary] of the LORD; it belonged [was given, assigned] to the priests [those who serve, spiritual leaders]. word study 17 At that time [during this period, around this time] Hazael [the king of Aram, a powerful ruler] king of Aram [Syria, a neighboring nation] marched up [went up, came up] and fought [waged war, battled] against Gath [a major city, a stronghold] and captured [took, conquered] it. Then he decided [set his face, determined] to attack [go up against, besiege] Jerusalem [the capital city, the holy city]. word study 18 So King Joash [the Lord has given, a gift from God] of Judah took all the sacred objects [holy things, dedicated to the Lord] dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items [hallowed things, set apart for God] and all the gold found in the treasuries [stores of valuable things] of the house of the LORD [the temple, God’s dwelling place] and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael [one who sees God, a seer of the divine] king of Aram [Syria, a neighboring nation]. So Hazael withdrew [went away, retreated] from Jerusalem [the city of peace, God’s holy city]. word study 19 As for the rest [remainder, what is left] of the acts [deeds, accomplishments] of Joash [Jehoash, the Lord has given], along with all [everything, the entirety] his accomplishments [achievements, successes], are they not written [recorded, documented] in the Book [scroll, written record] of the Chronicles [historical records, annals] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Judah [the tribe of Judah, the southern kingdom]? word study 20 And the servants [officials, attendants] of Joash [given by the Lord] rose up and formed a conspiracy [secret design, plot] and killed him at Beth-millo [the house of Millo], on the road down to Silla [on the way that goes down]. word study 21 His servants [faithful attendants, slaves] Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer [his advisors, officials] struck him down [smote, attacked], and he died [passed away, met his end]. And they buried him with his fathers [ancestors, predecessors] in the City of David [Jerusalem, the capital], and his son Amaziah [given by the Lord] reigned [ruled, governed] in his place [stead, position]. word study