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.
12. The king and Jehoiada gave it to the men who were doing the work on the Lord's temple. They hired people who could lay the stones and people who could work with wood. They also hired people who could work with iron and bronze. They hired all of them to repair the temple.
13. The men who were in charge of the work did their best. The repairs went very well under them. They rebuilt God's temple. They did it in keeping with its original plans. They made it stronger.
14. So they finished the work. Then they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to pay for the articles that were made for the Lord's temple. The articles were used for serving at the temple. They were also used for the burnt offerings. The articles included dishes and other objects that were made out of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were sacrificed continually at the Lord's temple.
15. Jehoiada had become very old. He died at the age of 130.
16. His body was buried with the kings in the City of David. That's because he had done so many good things in Israel for God and his temple.
17. After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah came to King Joash. They bowed down to him. He listened to them.
18. They turned their backs on the temple of the Lord, the God of their people. They worshiped poles that were made to honor the goddess Asherah. They also worshiped statues of other gods. Because Judah and Jerusalem were guilty of sin, God became angry with them.
19. The Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him. The prophets gave witness against the people. But they wouldn't listen.
20. Then the Spirit of God came on the priest Zechariah. He was the son of Jehoiada. Zechariah stood in front of the people. He told them, "God says, 'Why do you refuse to obey my commands? You will not have success. You have deserted me. So I have deserted you.' "
21. But the people made evil plans against Zechariah. The king ordered them to kill Zechariah by throwing stones at him. They did it in the courtyard of the Lord's temple.
22. King Joash didn't remember how kind Zechariah's father Jehoiada had been to him. So he killed Jehoiada's son. As Zechariah was dying he said, "May the Lord see this. May he hold you accountable."
23. In the spring, the army of Aram marched into Judah and Jerusalem against Joash. They killed all of the leaders of the people. They took a large amount of goods from Judah. They sent it to their king in Damascus.
24. The army of Aram had come with only a few men. But the Lord allowed them to win the battle over a much larger army. Judah had deserted the Lord, the God of their people. That's why the Lord punished Joash.