and disbursed the cash directly into the hands of those who did the work and who were in charge of the oversight of the LORD's Temple. They paid it to the carpenters and builders who worked on the LORD's Temple,

Furthermore, they required no accounting from the men into whose hand they had paid the money to do the work, because the workers acted in good faith.

So King Jehoash of Judah took all of the sacred things that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with his own dedicated things, and all the gold that could be located within the treasure vaults of the LORD's Temple and in the king's palace, and paid off King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael left Jerusalem.

But Jehoahaz sought the LORD, and the LORD paid attention to him, because the LORD had been watching the oppression that Israel was enduring from the king of Aram.

Later on, King Pul of Aram attacked the land, and Menahem paid Pul 1,000 silver talents so Pul would join forces with Menahem to secure his hold on the kingdom.

King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid tribute to him.

But you won't need to force them to be accountable for money already paid to them, since they're faithful."

As a result, Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold tribute to Pharaoh, but he passed on the costs to the inhabitants of the land in taxes, in keeping with Pharaoh's orders. He exacted the silver and gold from the people who lived in the land, from each according to his assessment, in order to pay it to Pharaoh Neco.