Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
1 He became king in Jehu's seventh year, and he ruled for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.
1
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash began his kingly rule. He was king for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Gazelle. She was from Beersheba.
2 Jehoash always did what was right in the LORD's eyes, because the priest Jehoiada was his teacher.
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Taught and trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased God for as long as he lived.
3 However, the shrines were not removed. People kept sacrificing and burning incense at them.
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(Even so, he didn't get rid of the sacred fertility shrines - people still frequented them, sacrificing and burning incense.)
4 Jehoash said to the priests, "Collect all the currently available money relating to holy things that is brought to the temple—some is money people pay to redeem persons according to their assessed value. Collect all the money brought to the LORD's temple that people offer voluntarily.
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Joash instructed the priests: "Take the money that is brought into The Temple of God for holy offerings - both mandatory offerings and freewill offerings -
5 The priests should take the money from their donors and use it to repair the temple wherever such a need for repair is discovered."
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and, keeping a careful accounting, use them to renovate The Temple wherever it has fallen into disrepair."
6 But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests still hadn't repaired the temple.
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But by the twenty-third year of Joash's rule, the priests hadn't done one thing - The Temple was as dilapidated as ever.
7 So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests together. "Why haven't you repaired the temple?" he asked them. "Stop taking money from your donors; instead, give it directly for temple repairs."
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King Joash called Jehoiada the priest and the company of priests and said, "Why haven't you renovated this sorry-looking Temple? You are forbidden to take any more money for Temple repairs - from now on, hand over everything you get."
8 The priests agreed that they wouldn't take any more money from the people nor be responsible for temple repairs.
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The priests agreed not to take any more money or to be involved in The Temple renovation.
9 Then the priest Jehoiada took a box, made a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar, to the right as one enters the LORD's temple. The priests who stood watch at the door put all the money brought to the LORD's temple in the box.
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Then Jehoiada took a single chest and bored a hole in the lid and placed it to the right of the main entrance into The Temple of God. All the offerings that were brought to The Temple of God were placed in the chest by the priests who guarded the entrance.
10 As soon as they saw that a large amount of money was in the box, the royal scribe and the high priest would come, count the money that was in the temple, and put it in a bag.
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When they saw that a large sum of money had accumulated in the chest, the king's secretary and the chief priest would empty the chest and count the offerings.
11 They would then hand over the money that had been counted to those who supervised the work on the temple. These supervisors then paid money to those who worked on the LORD's temple: carpenters, builders,
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They would give the money accounted for to the managers of The Temple project; they in turn would pay the carpenters, construction workers,
12 masons, and stonecutters. The money was used to purchase wood and quarried stone to repair the LORD's temple and for every other cost involved in repairing it.
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masons, stoneworkers, and the buyers of timber and quarried stone for the repair and renovation of The Temple of God - any expenses connected with fixing up The Temple.
13 But the money that was brought to the LORD's temple was not used to make silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any gold or silver object for the LORD's temple.
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But none of the money brought into The Temple of God was used for liturgical "extras" (silver chalices, candle snuffers, trumpets, various gold and silver vessels, etc.).
14 Instead, it was given directly to those who did the repair work; they used it to repair the LORD's temple.
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It was given to the workmen to pay for their repairing God's Temple.
15 There was no need to check on those who received the money and paid the workers, because they acted honestly.
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And no one even had to check on the men who handled the money given for the project - they were honest men.
16 Now as for the money for compensation and purification offerings, it wasn't brought to the LORD's temple. It belonged to the priests.
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Offerings designated for Compensation Offerings and Absolution Offerings didn't go into the building project - those went directly to the priests.
17 About this same time, Aram's King Hazael came up, attacked Gath, and captured it. Next Hazael decided to march against Jerusalem.
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Around this time Hazael king of Aram ventured out and attacked Gath, and he captured it. Then he decided to try for Jerusalem.
18 Judah's King Jehoash took all the holy objects that had been dedicated by his ancestors–Judah's kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah—along with the holy objects he himself had dedicated, as well as all the gold in the treasure rooms of the LORD's temple and the palace, and he sent them to Aram's King Hazael. Hazael then pulled back from Jerusalem.
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Joash king of Judah countered by gathering up all the sacred memorials - gifts dedicated for holy use by his ancestors, the kings of Judah, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, along with the holy memorials he himself had received, plus all the gold that he could find in the temple and palace storerooms - and sent it to Hazael king of Aram. Appeased, Hazael went on his way and didn't bother Jerusalem.
19 The rest of Jehoash's deeds and all that he accomplished, aren't they written in the official records of Judah's kings?
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The rest of the life and times of Joash and all that he did are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.
20 Jehoash's officials plotted a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo on the road that goes down to Silla.
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At the last his palace staff formed a conspiracy and assassinated Joash as he was strolling along the ramp of the fortified outside city wall.
21 It was Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his officials, who struck him so that he died. He was buried with his ancestors in David's City. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.
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Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer were the assassins. And so Joash died and was buried in the family plot in the City of David. His son Amaziah was king after him.
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Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.