New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
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In the seventh year of Jehu's rule, Jehoash became king; and he was ruling for forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2 Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days, because the priest Jehoiada instructed him.
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Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because he was guided by the teaching of Jehoiada the priest.
3 Nevertheless the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.
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But the high places were not taken away; the people went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.
4 Jehoash said to the priests, "All the money offered as sacred donations that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each person is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money from the voluntary offerings brought into the house of the Lord,
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And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the holy things, which comes into the house of the Lord, (the amount fixed for every man's payment,) and all the money given by any man freely from the impulse of his heart,
5 let the priests receive from each of the donors; and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered."
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Let the priests take, every man from his friends and neighbours, to make good what is damaged in the house, wherever it is to be seen.
6 But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had made no repairs on the house.
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But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not made good the damaged parts of the house.
7 Therefore King Jehoash summoned the priest Jehoiada with the other priests and said to them, "Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore do not accept any more money from your donors but hand it over for the repair of the house."
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Then King Jehoash sent for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, Why have you not made good what is damaged in the house? now take no more money from your neighbours, but give it for the building up of the house.
8 So the priests agreed that they would neither accept more money from the people nor repair the house.
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So the priests made an agreement to take no more money from the people, and not to make good what was damaged in the house.
9 Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, made a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord; the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord.
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But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and making a hole in the cover of it, put it by the altar, on the right side when one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put in it regularly all the money which was taken into the house of the Lord.
10 Whenever they saw that there was a great deal of money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest went up, counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and tied it up in bags.
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And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest came and put it in bags, noting the amount of all the money there was in the house of the Lord.
11 They would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workers who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; then they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord,
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And the money which was measured out they gave regularly to those who were responsible for overseeing the work, and these gave it in payment to the woodworkers and the builders who were working on the house of the Lord,
12 to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, as well as for any outlay for repairs of the house.
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And to the wall-builders and the stone-cutters, and to get wood and cut stone for building up the broken parts of the house of the Lord, and for everything needed to put the house in good order.
13 But for the house of the Lord no basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, were made from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord,
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But the money was not used for making silver cups or scissors or basins or wind-instruments or any vessels of gold or silver for the house of the Lord;
14 for that was given to the workers who were repairing the house of the Lord with it.
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But it was all given to the workmen who were building up the house.
15 They did not ask an accounting from those into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workers, for they dealt honestly.
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And they did not get any statement of accounts from the men to whom the money was given for the workmen, for they made use of it with good faith.
16 The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.
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The money of the offerings for error and the sin-offerings was not taken into the house of the Lord; it was the priests'.
17 At that time King Hazael of Aram went up, fought against Gath, and took it. But when Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem,
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Then Hazael, king of Aram, went up against Gath and took it; and his purpose was to go up to Jerusalem.
18 King Jehoash of Judah took all the votive gifts that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his ancestors, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, as well as his own votive gifts, all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent these to King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
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Then Jehoash, king of Judah, took all the holy things which Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had given to the Lord, together with the things he himself had given, and all the gold in the Temple store and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael, king of Aram; and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
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Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
20 His servants arose, devised a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.
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And his servants made a secret design and put Joash to death at the house of Millo on the way down to Silla.
21 It was Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. He was buried with his ancestors in the city of David; then his son Amaziah succeeded him.
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And Jozacar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, came to him and put him to death; and they put him into the earth with his fathers in the town of David; and Amaziah his son became king in his place.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.