2 Kings 12
Open in the reader1He-Who-Is-Strong was seven years old when he became king.
2In the seventh year of He-Who-Is-He, He-Who-Is-Strong became king, and he reigned in Foundation-of-Peace forty years. His mother’s name was Gazelle; she was from Well-of-Oath.
3And Joash did what was right in the eyes of He-Who-Is all the days he was instructed by He-Who-Is-Knows the priest.
4Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.
5Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of He-Who-Is—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house of He-Who-Is.
6Let every priest receive it from his constituency, and let it be used to repair any damage found in the temple.”
7By the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, however, the priests had not yet repaired the damage to the temple.
8So King He-Who-Is-Strong called He-Who-Is-Knows and the other priests and said, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, therefore, take no more money from your constituency, but hand it over for the repair of the temple.”
9So the priests agreed that they would not receive money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
10Then He-Who-Is-Knows the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the house of He-Who-Is. There the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money brought into the house of He-Who-Is.
11Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of He-Who-Is, and tie it up in bags.
12Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of He-Who-Is, who in turn would pay those doing the work—the carpenters, builders,
13masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of He-Who-Is, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.
14However, the money brought into the house of He-Who-Is was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of He-Who-Is.
15Instead, it was paid to those doing the work, and with it they repaired the house of He-Who-Is.
16No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay the workmen, because they acted with integrity.
17The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the house of He-Who-Is; it belonged to the priests.
18At that time God-Has-Seen king of Highland marched up and fought against Wine-Press and captured it. Then he decided to attack Foundation-of-Peace.
19So King He-Who-Is-Strong of Praised took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—He-Who-Is-Has-Judged, He-Who-Is-Exalted, and He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped, the kings of Praised—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of He-Who-Is and the royal palace, and he sent them to God-Has-Seen king of Highland. So God-Has-Seen withdrew from Foundation-of-Peace.
20As for the rest of the acts of He-Who-Is-Strong, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Praised?
21And the servants of He-Who-Is-Strong rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-Rampart-House, on the road down to Silla.
22His servants Jozabad son of Heard and He-Who-Is-Has-Endowed son of Watcher struck him down, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of Beloved, and his son He-Who-Is-Strong reigned in his place.