<p class="bodytext">Jehoash said to the priests, &#8220;I place at your disposal<n id="1" /> all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax,<n id="2" /> the silver received from those who have made vows,<n id="3" /> and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.<n id="4" />

Samaria&#8217;s food supply ran out.<n id="1" /> They laid siege to it so long that<n id="2" /> a donkey&#8217;s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver<n id="3" /> and a quarter of a kab<n id="4" /> of dove&#8217;s droppings<n id="5" /> for five shekels of silver.<n id="6" />p>

The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers<n id="1" /> and basins.

(The silver collected in conjunction with reparation offerings and sin offerings was not brought to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple; it belonged to the priests.)p>

The silver brought to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements.

The priests agreed<n id="1" /> not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs.<n id="2" />p>

Pul<n id="1" /> king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid<n id="2" /> him<n id="3" /> a thousand talents<n id="4" /> of silver to gain his support<n id="5" /> and to solidify his control of the kingdom.<n id="6" />

Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem.<n id="1" /> He imposed on the land a special tax<n id="2" /> of one hundred talents<n id="3" /> of silver and a talent of gold.

The king of Syria said, &#8220;Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.&#8221; So Naaman<n id="1" /> went, taking with him ten talents<n id="2" /> of silver, six thousand shekels of gold,<n id="3" /> and ten suits of clothes.

He answered, &#8220;Everything is fine.<n id="1" /> My master sent me with this message, &#8216;Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country.<n id="2" /> Please give them a talent<n id="3" /> of silver and two suits of clothes.&#8217;&#8221;

Naaman said, &#8220;Please accept two talents of silver.<n id="1" /> He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi.<n id="2" />

When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal.<n id="1" /> They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all.<n id="2" /> Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it<n id="3" /> and went and hid what they had taken.

So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, &#8220;Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.&#8221;<n id="1" />

Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria.<n id="1" /> Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.p>

King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, &#8220;I have violated our treaty.<n id="1" /> If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.&#8221;<n id="2" /> So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents<n id="3" /> of silver and thirty talents of gold.