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2 Kings 12

2 Kings 12 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

2 Kings 12 follows Joash as he rules Judah, orders repairs to the temple, and sets up a system to collect and use gifts for the work. The chapter also shows the limits of his reign, including unfinished reform, a foreign threat, and the end of his life.

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What happens in 2 Kings 12?

Joash becomes king of Judah and does what is right while Jehoiada instructs him, though the high places remain in use. He directs that money brought to the house of the LORD be used to repair temple damage, but the priests do not complete the work. Joash then arranges a chest for offerings, and the money is counted and given to workers who restore the temple. Later, Hazael of Aram threatens Jerusalem, and Joash sends temple and palace treasures to stop him. The chapter ends with Joash being killed in a conspiracy and buried in the City of David.

This chapter comes after the overthrow of Athaliah and the crowning of Joash in 2 Kings 11. It shows the early part of Joash's reign in Judah, when priestly guidance is still shaping the king's faithfulness. It also sets up the later decline of his rule and the transition to his son Amaziah.

Themes to notice

  • Temple repairJoash redirects sacred gifts so the damaged house of the LORD can be restored.
  • Leadership under guidanceJoash does what is right while Jehoiada lives and instructs him, showing the importance of faithful counsel.
  • Pressure and lossA foreign threat leads Joash to give up treasures, and his reign ends in violence and replacement.

Questions for 2 Kings 12

  • What does Joash's handling of the temple repairs show about priorities in worship and leadership?
  • Why do you think the priests did not complete the repairs at first, and what changed the process?
  • How does the end of Joash's reign contrast with the promise shown at the start of the chapter?

Read the full text of 2 Kings 12 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

2 Kings 12

Joash Repairs the Temple

1In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.2And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days he was instructed by Jehoiada the priest.3Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

4Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house of the LORD.5Let every priest receive it from his constituency, and let it be used to repair any damage found in the temple.”

6By the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, however, the priests had not yet repaired the damage to the temple.7So King Joash called Jehoiada 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.”

8So the priests agreed that they would not receive money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.9Then Jehoiada 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 the LORD. There the priests who guarded the threshold put all the money brought into the house of the LORD.10Whenever 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 the LORD, and tie it up in bags.11Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of the LORD, who in turn would pay those doing the work—the carpenters, builders,12masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.13However, the money brought into the house of the LORD was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of the LORD.14Instead, it was paid to those doing the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD.15No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay the workmen, because they acted with integrity.16The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.

The Death of Joash

17At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.18So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.

19As for the rest of the acts of Joash, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?20And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.21His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer struck him down, and he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the City of David, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.

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