1. Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 40 years. His mother's name was Zibiah. She was from Beersheba.
2. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived that way as long as the priest Jehoiada was alive.
3. Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. They had sons and daughters by Joash.
4. Some time later Joash decided to make the Lord's temple look like new again.
5. He called together the priests and Levites. He said to them, "Go to the towns of Judah. Collect the money that the nation of Israel owes every year. Use it to repair the temple of your God. Do it now." But the Levites didn't do it right away.
6. So the king sent for the chief priest Jehoiada. He said to him, "Why haven't you required the Levites to bring in the tax from Judah and Jerusalem? It was set up by the Lord's servant Moses and the whole community of Israel. It was used for the tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept."
7. The children of that evil woman Athaliah had broken into God's temple. They had used even its sacred objects for the gods that were named after Baal.
8. King Joash commanded that a wooden chest be made. It was placed outside near the gate of the Lord's temple.
9. Then a message went out in Judah and Jerusalem. It said that the people should bring the tax to the Lord. God's servant Moses had required Israel to pay that tax when they were in the desert.
10. All of the officials and people gladly brought their money. They dropped it into the chest until it was full.
11. The chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials. Every time the officials saw there was a large amount of money in the chest, it was emptied out. The royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest came and emptied it. Then they carried it back to its place. They did it regularly. They collected a great amount of money.