8. At the king’s command, therefore, they made a chest, which they put outside the gate of the Lord’s house.
9. They had it proclaimed throughout Judah and Jerusalem that the tax which Moses, the servant of God, had imposed on Israel in the wilderness should be brought to the Lord.
10. All the princes and the people rejoiced; they brought what was asked and cast it into the chest until it was filled.
11. Whenever the chest was brought to the royal officials by the Levites and they noticed that there was a large amount of money, the royal scribe and an overseer for the chief priest would come up, empty the chest, and then take it back and return it to its place. This they did day after day until they had collected a large sum of money.
12. Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to the workers in charge of the labor on the Lord’s house, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s house, and also iron- and bronze-smiths to repair it.
13. The workers labored, and the task of restoration progressed under their hands. They restored the house of God according to its original form, and reinforced it.
14. After they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and to Jehoiada, who had it made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and the burnt offerings, and basins and other gold and silver utensils. They sacrificed burnt offerings in the Lord’s house continually all the days of Jehoiada.
15. Jehoiada grew old, full of years, and died; he was a hundred and thirty years old.
16. They buried him in the City of David with the kings, because of the good he had done in Israel, especially for God and his house.
17. After the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king; then the king listened to them.
18. They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and began to serve the asherahs and the idols; and because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.
19. Although prophets were sent to them to turn them back to the Lord and to warn them, the people would not listen.
20. Then the spirit of God clothed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He took his stand above the people and said to them: “Thus says God, Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.”