2 Amakhosi 12

1 Ngomnyaka wesikhombisa kaJehu uJehowashi waba yinkosi; wabusa iminyaka engamatshumi amane eJerusalema. Lebizo likanina lalinguZibiya weBherishebha.

When Jehu had been ruling Israel for almost seven years, Joash became the king of Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem for 40 years. His mother was Zibiah, from Beersheba [city].

2 UJehowashi wasesenza okulungileyo emehlweni eNkosi zonke izinsuku zakhe uJehoyada umpristi amfundisa ngazo.

All his life, he did what pleased Yahweh, because Jehoiada the priest instructed/taught him.

3 Kodwa indawo eziphakemeyo kazisuswanga; abantu babelokhu benikela imihlatshelo betshisa impepha endaweni eziphakemeyo.

But the places where the people worshiped [Yahweh] on the tops of hills were not destroyed, and they continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at those places, [instead of at the place that God had chosen for them in Jerusalem].

4 UJehowashi wasesithi kubapristi: Yonke imali yezinto ezehlukanisiweyo elethwa endlini kaJehova, imali yalowo lalowo odlulayo kwababaliweyo, imali yalowo lalowo umuntu ayilinganisileyo, yonke imali, okuvela enhliziyweni yaloba nguwuphi umuntu ukuyiletha endlini yeNkosi;

Joash said to the priests, “You must take all the money which the people contribute, both the money they are required to give and the money that they themselves decide to give, as sacred offerings to buy things for the temple.

5 abapristi kabayithathe kubo, ngulowo lalowo komejwayeleyo, balungise izikhala zendlu, loba kungaphi lapho okutholwa khona izikhala.

Each priest must take the money from people who know him (OR, from one of the treasurers), and he must use that money to repair the temple whenever he sees that there is something that needs to be repaired.”

6 Kodwa kwathi ngomnyaka wamatshumi amabili lantathu wenkosi uJehowashi abapristi babengakalungisi izikhala zendlu.

But after Joash had been ruling for almost twenty-three years, the priests still had not repaired anything in the temple.

7 Inkosi uJehowashi yasibiza uJehoyada umpristi labapristi, yathi kibo: Kungani lingalungisi izikhala zendlu? Ngakho-ke lingathathi imali kwelibejwayeleyo kodwa liyinikele izikhala zendlu.

So Joash summoned Jehoiada and the other priests and said to them, “(Why are you not repairing things in the temple?/You should have been repairing things in the temple!) [RHQ] From now on, you must not keep the money that you receive from people who know you (OR, the treasurers). You must give it to the people who will be repairing things in the temple!”

8 Abapristi basebevuma ukuthi kabasayikuthatha imali ebantwini lokuthi kabayikulungisa izikhala zendlu.

The priests agreed to do that, and they also agreed that they themselves would not do the repair work.

9 UJehoyada umpristi wasethatha ibhokisi elilodwa, wabhoboza isikhala esivalweni salo, walibeka eceleni kwelathi ngakwesokunene nxa umuntu engena endlini yeNkosi. Abapristi-ke abalinda umbundu bafaka kulo yonke imali eyalethwa endlini yeNkosi.

Then Jehoiada took a chest and bored a hole in the lid. He placed it alongside the altar [for burning incense/sacrifices] that was on the right as anyone enters the temple. The priests who guarded the entrance to the temple put in the box the money that was brought to the temple.

10 Kwakusithi sebebona ukuthi imali isinengi ebhokisini, umabhalane wenkosi, lompristi omkhulu benyuke, bayibophe bayibale imali eyatholwa endlini yeNkosi.

Whenever they saw that there was a lot of money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the Supreme Priest would come and count the money. Then they would put it in bags and tie the bags shut.

11 Basebenikela imali elinganisiweyo ezandleni zabenzi bomsebenzi, zababonisi bendlu yeNkosi, bayikhuphela kubabazi bezigodo lakubakhi ababesebenza endlini yeNkosi,

Then, after they weighed it, they would give the money to the men who supervised the work in the temple. Then the supervisors would use that money to pay the carpenters and builders who did the repair work in the temple,

12 lakwabakha ngamatshe lakubabazi bamatshe, lokuthenga izigodo lamatshe abaziweyo ukulungisa izikhala zendlu yeNkosi, lakukho konke okwakhutshelwa indlu ukuyilungisa.

and the masons and the stone cutters. Also with some of that money they bought timber and stones that had been cut to be used in the repair work, and to pay all the other expenses for the repair work.

13 Kodwa kayenzelwanga indlu yeNkosi imiganu yesiliva, izindlawu, imiganu yokufafaza, izimpondo zokukhaliswa, laziphi izitsha zegolide lezitsha zesiliva zemali eyalethwa endlini yeNkosi,

But they did not use any of that money [to pay men] to make silver cups or wick trimmers or bowls or trumpets or any other items made of silver or gold to be used in the temple.

14 kodwa bayinika abenzi bomsebenzi, basebelungisa ngayo indlu yeNkosi.

All that money was given to the men who were doing the work of repairing the temple.

15 Njalo kababalelananga labantu abanikela imali esandleni sabo, ukupha abenzi bomsebenzi, ngoba benza ngokuthembeka.

The men who supervised the work always did things honestly, so the king’s secretary and the Supreme Priest never required that the supervisors report what they had spent the money for.

16 Imali yomnikelo wecala lemali yeminikelo yesono kayilethwanga endlini yeNkosi; yayingeyabapristi.

But the money that people gave to pay for the wrong things that they had done and the money they gave to purify themselves because of the sins that they had committed was not put in the chest. That money belonged to the priests.

17 Ngalesosikhathi uHazayeli inkosi yeSiriya wenyuka walwa emelene leGathi, wayithumba. UHazayeli wasekhangelisa ubuso bakhe ukwenyuka amelane leJerusalema.

At that time, Hazael, the king of Syria, went [with his army] and attacked Gath [city] and conquered it. Then he decided that they would attack Jerusalem.

18 Kodwa uJehowashi inkosi yakoJuda wathatha zonke izinto ezingcwelisiweyo uJehoshafathi loJoramu loAhaziya oyise, amakhosi akoJuda, ababezingcwelisile, lezakhe izinto ezingcwelisiweyo, legolide lonke elatholwa enothweni yendlu kaJehova lendlu yenkosi, wakuthumela kuHazayeli inkosi yeSiriya. Wasesenyuka wasuka eJerusalema.

So Joash, the king of Judah, took all the money that the previous kings, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, had dedicated to Yahweh. He added some of his own money, and all the gold that was in the rooms in the temple where valuable things were kept/stored, and the gold in his palace, and sent it all to King Hazael, [to (appease him/persuade him to not attack Jerusalem)]. So King Hazael [took his army] away from Jerusalem.

19 Ezinye-ke zezindaba zikaJowashi, lakho konke akwenzayo, kakubhalwanga yini egwalweni lwemilando yamakhosi akoJuda?

[If you want to read more of] what Joash did, [it] is all written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

20 Inceku zakhe zasezisukuma zenza ugobe, zamtshaya uJowashi endlini yeMilo eyehlela eSila.

Joash’s officials plotted against him, and two of them killed Joash on the road that goes down to [the] Silla [district]. The two men who did that were Jozabad, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer. Joash was buried in the place where his ancestors were buried, [in the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. Then Joash’s son Amaziah became the king of Judah.

21 Ngoba oJozakari indodana kaShimeyathi loJehozabadi indodana kaShomeri, inceku zakhe, bamtshaya, wafa; basebemngcwaba kuboyise emzini kaDavida. UAmaziya indodana yakhe wasesiba yinkosi esikhundleni sakhe.