Bible Verses About The First Temple: Repaired by Jehoash at the institution of Jehoiada

Y'ho'ash said to the cohanim, "All the funds for sacred purposes which are brought to the house of ADONAI - the half-shekel tax, the taxes on persons in a man's household, and all the offerings anyone voluntarily brings to the house of ADONAI -

the cohanim are to receive from whoever personally makes contributions to them; and they are to use these funds to repair the damaged parts of the house, wherever damage is found.

But twenty-three years into the reign of King Y'ho'ash, the cohanim had still not repaired the damaged places in the house.

So King Y'ho'ash summoned Y'hoyada the cohen and the other cohanim and said to them, "Why aren't you repairing the damaged places in the house? Therefore, you are no longer to take money from those who contribute it personally to you; you must hand it over to be used for repairing the damage in the house."

The cohanim agreed not to receive money from the people, and they would no longer be responsible for repairing the damage to the house.

Then Y'hoyada the cohen took a chest, drilled a hole in its lid and set it by the altar, on the right, as one enters the house of ADONAI; and the cohanim in charge of the entry put in it all the money brought into the house of ADONAI.

When they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the king's secretary and the cohen hagadol would come up, count the money found in the house of ADONAI and put it in bags.

Then they would give the weighed-out money to those supervising the work in the house of ADONAI, who would use it to pay the carpenters and construction-workers doing the work in the house of ADONAI,

on masons, stoneworkers, timber, worked stone and everything else needed for repairing the damaged places in the house of ADONAI.

But none of the money brought into the house of ADONAI was used to make silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets or other articles of gold or silver for the house of ADONAI;

because they gave the money to those doing the

Some time later, Yo'ash decided to restore the house of ADONAI.

He gathered the cohanim and L'vi'im and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Y'hudah, and collect money each year from all Isra'el to repair the house of your God. See that you do this promptly." But when the L'vi'im procrastinated,

the king summoned Y'hoyada the chief and said to him, "Why haven't you demanded that the L'vi'im bring in from Y'hudah and Yerushalayim the tax prescribed by Moshe the servant of ADONAI and by the community of Isra'el, for the tent of the testimony?"

For the sons of that wicked 'Atalyahu had broken up the house of God, and they had given all the consecrated things belonging to the house of ADONAI to the ba'alim.

Then, at the king's order, they made a box and placed it outside the entrance to the house of ADONAI.

They proclaimed throughout Y'hudah and Yerushalayim that the tax Moshe the servant of God had imposed on Isra'el in the desert should be brought in for ADONAI.

All the leaders and all the people were glad to bring in their contributions and put them in the box, until it was full.

When the box was brought to the king's officials by the L'vi'im, and when they saw how much money there was, the king's secretary and the chief cohen's official came and emptied the box; then they took it and returned it to its place. They did this daily, and they collected money in abundance.

The king and Y'hoyada gave it to those in charge of taking care of the house of ADONAI. They, in turn, hired stone-workers and carpenters to restore the house of ADONAI, also iron- and bronze-workers to repair the house of ADONAI.

The workers got on with their tasks, so that the restoration progressed well, until they had returned the house of God to its earlier condition and strengthened it.