New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
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.
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 did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days, because the priest Jehoiada instructed him.
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Taught and trained by Jehoiada the priest, Joash did what pleased God for as long as he lived.
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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(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, "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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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 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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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 had made no repairs on the house.
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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 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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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 So the priests agreed that they would neither accept more money from the people nor repair the house.
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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 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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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 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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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 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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They would give the money accounted for to the managers of The Temple project; they in turn would pay the carpenters, construction workers,
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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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 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 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 for that was given to the workers who were repairing the house of the Lord with it.
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It was given to the workmen to pay for their repairing God's Temple.
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 no one even had to check on the men who handled the money given for the project - they were honest men.
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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Offerings designated for Compensation Offerings and Absolution Offerings didn't go into the building project - those went directly to 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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Around this time Hazael king of Aram ventured out and attacked Gath, and he captured it. Then he decided to try for 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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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 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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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 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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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 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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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.
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.
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.