1 Foi sete anos depois de Jeú se ter tornado rei de Israel que Joás se tornou rei de Judá. Reinou em Jerusalém quarenta anos. (A sua mãe era Zibia de Berseba.) Toda a sua vida Joás fez o que era recto, porque Jeoiada o sacerdote o instruía.
3 Mas mesmo assim ainda não destruiu os nichos aos ídolos que se levantavam sobre as colinas - o povo continuou ainda a sacrificar e queimar incenso aí.
4 Um dia o rei Joás disse a Jeoiada: O edifício do templo precisa de grandes reparações. Por isso, quando alguém trouxer uma dádiva ao Senhor, seja ela uma contribuição regular ou um dom especial, utilizem-na para pagar as obras de restauração que forem necessárias.
6 No entanto, ainda no vigésimo terceiro ano do seu reinado, o templo se mantinha no mesmo estado. Por isso Joás mandou chamar Jeoiada e os outros sacerdotes, perguntando-lhes: Por que razão ainda nada fizeram para restaurar o templo? Não utilizem portanto mais dinheiro nenhum para cobrir as vossas necessidades pessoais. Daqui em diante tudo o que for recebido deverá ser empregado com o fim de pôr o templo em condições.
8 Os sacerdotes concordaram em levantar um fundo especial para reparação do edifício, e em não receberem mais donativos que revertessem para sí próprios. Jeoiada, o sacerdote, preparou uma grande arca com uma abertura na tampa e pô-la ao lado do altar à direita de quem entrava no templo. Os sacerdotes com a função de porteiros punham aí dentro todas as contribuições do povo. Sempre que a arca ficava cheia, o tesoureiro real e o sacerdote contavam o dinheiro e punham-no em sacos; davam-no depois ao mestre-de-obras para pagar aos carpinteiros, aos pedreiros, aos marceneiros, aos canteiros, e também para comprar mais material que era necessário à obra da casa do Senhor. Nenhum desse dinheiro era usado para adquirir fosse o que fosse em matéria de instrumentos ou recipientes em prata ou ouro, fossem garfos, bacias, taças; todo ela ia exclusivamente para os trabalhos de restauração. Também não eram requeridas contas exactas aos encarregados da obra, porque actuavam com fidelidade. Unicamente o dinheiro proveniente das contribuições por ofertas de culpa e sacrifícios pelo pecado é que era dado aos sacerdotes para o seu uso pessoal; essa não era posto na arca das ofertas.
17 Por essa altura o rei Hazael da Síria entrou em guerra contra Gate e conquistou-a. Depois virou-se contra Jerusalém a atacar. O rei Joás pegou em todos os objectos sagrados que os seus antepassados - Jeosafá, Jeorão e Acazias, reis de Judá - tinham consagrado, juntamente com o que ele próprio dera, assim como o ouro que se achou nos tesouros do templo e do palácio, e enviou tudo a Hazael. Desta forma este último desistiu do ataque.
19 O resto da história do reinado de Joás está narrado nas Crónicas dos Reis de Judá. Os seus conselheiros conspiraram contra ele e assassinaram no na sua residência real em Milo, no caminho para Sila. Os assassinos foram Jozacar, filho de Simeate e Jeozabade, filho de Somer - ambos eram seus auxiliares de confiança. Foi sepultado no cemitério real, em Jerusalém. Seu filho Amazias reinou em seu lugar.
1 In the seventh year of Jehu, began Jehoash to reign, and, forty years, reigned he in Jerusalem,and, the name of his mother, was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days,whereunto, Jehoiada the priest, instructed him:
3 save only, that, the high places, took they not away,still were the people sacrificing and burning incense in the high places.
4 And Jehoash said unto the priests,All the silver of the hallowed things, that is brought into the house of Yahwehthe silver of one who transgresseth, the silver of persons by the estimate of, each one,all the silver which it cometh into any mans heart to bring into the house of Yahweh,
5 let the priests take to them, every one from his acquaintance,and let, them, repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever there may be found a breach.
6 But it came to pass, that, in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7 So King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said unto themWhy are ye not repairing the breaches of the house? Now, therefore, do not take silver from your acquaintances, for, to the breaches of the house, ought ye to have given it?
8 The priests therefore consented, not to take silver from the people, and not to repair the breaches of the house.
9 Then took Jehoiada a certain chest, and bored a hole in the door thereof,and set it beside the altar, on the right as one entereth into the house of Yahweh, and the priests that kept the entrance-hall, used to put thereinall the silver that was brought into the house of Yahweh.
10 And it came to pass, when they saw that there was much silver in the chest, that the kings scribe and the high priest came up, and brought together and counted the silver that was found in the house of Yahweh;
11 then used they to give the silver that had been weighed out, into the hands of the doers of the work, who had oversight of the house of Yahweh,and they brought it forth, to the carpenters, and to the builders, who were working upon the house of Yahweh;
12 and to the masons, and to the hewers of stone, and to buy timber, and hewn stone, for repairing the breaches of the house of Yahweh,and to every one that went out upon the house, to repair it.
13 Howbeit there were not made for the house of Yahweh, bowls of silver, snuffers, dashing basins, trumpets, any vessel of gold, or any vessel of silver,out of the silver that was brought into the house of Yahweh;
14 for, to the doers of the work, used they to give it; and so they repaired, therewith, the house of Yahweh.
15 And they used not to reckon with the men into whose hands they gave the silver, to give it to the doers of the work, because, with faithfulness, were, they, dealing.
16 Silver for guilt-offerings and silver for sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Yahweh,to the priests, they belonged.
17 Then, came up Hazael, king of Syria, and fought against Gath, and captured it,so Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.
18 Therefore did Jehoash, king of Judah, take all the hallowed things which Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had hallowed, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the house of the king,and sent to Hazael king of Syria, so he went up from against Jerusalem.
19 Now, the rest of the story of Joash, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20 And his servants arose and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash, in the house of Millo which teeth down to Silla.
21 Yea, Jozabar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, that he died, and he was buried with his fathers, in the city of David,and, Amaziah his son, reigned in his stead.