The Holy Bible

[12:1] In the seventh year of the reign of King Jehu of Israel, Joash became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was Zibiah from the city of Beersheba.

[12:2] Throughout his life he did what pleased the Lord, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

[12:3] However, the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

[12:4] Joash called the priests and ordered them to save up the money paid in connection with the sacrifices in the Temple, both the dues paid for the regular sacrifices and the money given as freewill gifts.

[12:5] Each priest was to be responsible for the money brought by those he served, and the money was to be used to repair the Temple, as needed.

[12:6] But by the twenty-third year of Joash's reign the priests still had not made any repairs in the Temple.

[12:7] So he called in Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren't you repairing the Temple? From now on you are not to keep the money you receive; you must hand it over, so that the repairs can be made.”

[12:8] The priests agreed to this and also agreed not to make the repairs in the Temple.

[12:9] Then Jehoiada took a box, made a hole in the lid, and placed the box by the altar, on the right side as one enters the Temple. The priests on duty at the entrance put in the box all the money given by the worshipers.

[12:10] Whenever there was a large amount of money in the box, the royal secretary and the High Priest would come, melt down the silver, and weigh it.

[12:11] After recording the exact amount, they would hand the silver over to the men in charge of the work in the Temple, and these would pay the carpenters, the builders,

[12:12] the masons, and the stone cutters, buy the timber and the stones used in the repairs, and pay all other necessary expenses.

[12:13] None of the money, however, was used to pay for making silver cups, bowls, trumpets, or tools for tending the lamps, or any other article of silver or of gold.

[12:14] It was all used to pay the workers and to buy the materials used in the repairs.

[12:15] The men in charge of the work were thoroughly honest, so there was no need to require them to account for the funds.

[12:16] The money given for the repayment offerings and for the offerings for sin was not deposited in the box; it belonged to the priests.

[12:17] At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked the city of Gath and conquered it; then he decided to attack Jerusalem.

[12:18] King Joash of Judah took all the offerings that his predecessors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah had dedicated to the Lord, added to them his own offerings and all the gold in the treasuries of the Temple and the palace, and sent them all as a gift to King Hazael, who then led his army away from Jerusalem.

[12:19] Everything else that King Joash did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.

[13:1] In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah as king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for seventeen years.

[13:2] Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against the Lord and led Israel into sin; he never gave up his evil ways.

[13:3] So the Lord was angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad to defeat Israel time after time.

[13:4] Then Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord, and the Lord, seeing how harshly the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelites, answered his prayer.

[13:5] The Lord sent Israel a leader, who freed them from the Syrians, and so the Israelites lived in peace, as before.

[13:6] But they still did not give up the sins into which King Jeroboam had led Israel, but kept on committing them; and the image of the goddess Asherah remained in Samaria.

[13:7] Jehoahaz had no armed forces left except fifty cavalry troops, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Syria had destroyed the rest, trampling them down like dust.

[13:8] Everything else that Jehoahaz did and all his brave deeds are recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[13:9] He died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash succeeded him as king.

[13:10] In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for sixteen years.

[13:11] He too sinned against the Lord and followed the evil example of King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin.

[13:12] Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[13:13] Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.

[13:14] The prophet Elisha was sick with a fatal disease, and as he lay dying, King Jehoash of Israel went to visit him. “My father, my father!” he exclaimed as he wept. “You have been the mighty defender of Israel!”

[13:15] “Get a bow and some arrows,” Elisha ordered him. Jehoash got them,

[13:16] and Elisha told him to get ready to shoot. The king did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king's hands.

[13:17] Then, following the prophet's instructions, the king opened the window that faced toward Syria. “Shoot the arrow!” Elisha ordered. As soon as the king shot the arrow, the prophet exclaimed, “You are the Lord's arrow, with which he will win victory over Syria. You will fight the Syrians in Aphek until you defeat them.”

[13:18] Then Elisha told the king to take the other arrows and strike the ground with them. The king struck the ground three times, and then stopped.

[13:19] This made Elisha angry, and he said to the king, “You should have struck five or six times, and then you would have won complete victory over the Syrians; but now you will defeat them only three times.”

[13:20] Elisha died and was buried. Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel.

[13:21] One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha's tomb and ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up.

[13:22] King Hazael of Syria oppressed the Israelites during all of Jehoahaz' reign,

[13:23] but the Lord was kind and merciful to them. He would not let them be destroyed, but helped them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has never forgotten his people.

[13:24] At the death of King Hazael of Syria his son Benhadad became king.

[13:25] Then King Jehoash of Israel defeated Benhadad three times and recaptured the cities that had been taken by Benhadad during the reign of Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash.

[14:1] In the second year of the reign of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz as king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah

[14:2] at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.

[14:3] He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but he was not like his ancestor King David; instead, he did what his father Joash had done.

[14:4] He did not tear down the pagan places of worship, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

[14:5] As soon as Amaziah was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had killed his father, the king.

[14:6] However, he did not kill their children but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: “Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for a crime they themselves have committed.”

[14:7] Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in Salt Valley; he captured the city of Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, the name it still has.

[14:8] Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash of Israel, challenging him to fight.

[14:9] But King Jehoash sent back the following reply: “Once a thorn bush on the Lebanon Mountains sent a message to a cedar: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ A wild animal passed by and trampled the bush down.

[14:10] Now Amaziah, you have defeated the Edomites, and you are filled with pride. Be satisfied with your fame and stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and your people?”

[14:11] But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Jehoash marched out with his men and fought against him at Beth Shemesh in Judah.

[14:12] Amaziah's army was defeated, and all his soldiers fled to their homes.

[14:13] Jehoash took Amaziah prisoner, advanced on Jerusalem, and tore down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of two hundred yards.

[14:14] He took all the silver and gold he could find, all the Temple equipment and all the palace treasures, and carried them back to Samaria. He also took hostages with him.

[14:15] Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[14:16] Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.

[14:17] King Amaziah of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.

[14:18] Everything else that Amaziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.

[14:19] There was a plot in Jerusalem to assassinate Amaziah, so he fled to the city of Lachish, but his enemies followed him there and killed him.

[14:20] His body was carried back to Jerusalem on a horse and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City.

[14:21] The people of Judah then crowned his sixteen-year-old son Uzziah as king.

[14:22] Uzziah reconquered and rebuilt Elath after his father's death.

[14:23] In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah son of Joash as king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for forty-one years.

[14:24] He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of his predecessor King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

[14:25] He reconquered all the territory that had belonged to Israel, from Hamath Pass in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. This was what the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised through his servant the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath Hepher.

[14:26] The Lord saw the terrible suffering of the Israelites; there was no one at all to help them.

[14:27] But it was not the Lord's purpose to destroy Israel completely and forever, so he rescued them through King Jeroboam II.

[14:28] Everything else that Jeroboam II did, his brave battles, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Israel, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[14:29] Jeroboam died and was buried in the royal tombs, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.

[15:1] In the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah

[15:2] at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.

[15:3] Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the Lord.

[15:4] But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

[15:5] The Lord struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a separate house, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.

[15:6] Everything else that Uzziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.

[15:7] Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground in David's City, and his son Jotham succeeded him as king.

[15:8] In the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam II became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for six months.

[15:9] He, like his predecessors, sinned against the Lord. He followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

[15:10] Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against King Zechariah, assassinated him at Ibleam, and succeeded him as king.

[15:11] Everything else that Zechariah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[15:12] So the promise was fulfilled which the Lord had made to King Jehu: “Your descendants down to the fourth generation will be kings of Israel.”