Joash

1And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

Athaliah was the mother of King Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she acted. She killed everyone in the royal family who might become king.

2But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

But Jehosheba was the daughter of King Joram and the sister of Ahaziah. She took Joash, the little son of Ahaziah, away from the king's sons who were being killed. She hid him and his nurse in a bedroom. Athaliah never found him, so he was not killed.

3And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.

Joash stayed hidden with his nurse in the temple, God's house, for six years. All that time Athaliah ruled the land.

4And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son.

In the seventh year, a priest named Jehoiada sent for the army commanders and the palace guards. He brought them into the temple. He made an agreement with them and had them promise to keep it. Then he showed them the king's son.

5And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;

He told them what to do. One third of you who start work on the Sabbath, the weekly rest day, will guard the palace.

6And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.

One third of you will stand at the gate of Sur. One third will stand at the gate behind the guards. Take turns watching over the temple.

7And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.

The two groups who would normally go home that day have a job too. They will guard the temple and stay close around the king.

8And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.

Stand in a circle around the king with your weapons ready. Anyone who tries to push through your lines must be killed. Stay with the king wherever he goes.

9And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

The commanders did just what Jehoiada the priest told them. Each one gathered his men. He took both those starting work and those finishing. Then they came to Jehoiada the priest.

10And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD.

The priest gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David. They had been kept in the temple.

11And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.

The guards stood around the king with their weapons ready. They lined up from one side of the temple to the other. They stood near the altar and the temple building.

12And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.

Jehoiada brought out the king's son. He put the crown on his head and handed him the Testimony. They made him king and poured oil on him. The people clapped their hands and shouted, "Long live the king!"

13And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.

Athaliah heard the noise of the guards and the people. So she came out to the people at the temple.

14And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.

She looked and saw the young king standing by the pillar, the way kings always did. Officers and trumpet players stood beside him. All the people of the land were glad and blew their trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Treason! Treason!" She meant that people had turned against her.

15But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

Jehoiada the priest gave an order to the army commanders. He said, "Take her out between the rows of guards. Kill anyone who follows her." The priest had said she must not be killed inside the temple.

16And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain.

So they took hold of her. She was led to the gate where horses go into the palace. There she was killed.

17And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people; between the king also and the people.

Then Jehoiada made an agreement between the LORD, the king, and the people. They promised to be the LORD's people. He also made an agreement between the king and the people.

18And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, a false god. They tore it down. They smashed his altars and statues to pieces. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. Then Jehoiada put guards at the house of the LORD.

19And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

Jehoiada took the commanders, the guards, and all the people with him. They brought the king down from the temple to the palace. They went in through the Gate of the Guards. Then the king sat down on the royal throne.

20And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house.

All the people of the land were glad, and the city was calm and quiet. Athaliah had been killed with a sword beside the palace.

21Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

Joash was seven years old when he became king.

1In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

Jehu had been king of Israel for seven years. That is when Joash became king of Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was Zibiah, from a town called Beersheba.

2And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

Joash did what was right in the LORD's eyes. He did this all the time that Jehoiada the priest taught him. A priest was a man who served God at the temple.

3But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

But the high places were not torn down. These were altars on hills. People still burned offerings and sweet-smelling incense there.

4And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD,

Joash spoke to the priests. He said, "Gather all the money people give to the LORD's house. That means the money each person owes when they are counted. It also means money from promises people make. And it means gifts people bring because they want to.

5Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.

Let each priest take the money from the people he knows. Then use it to fix any broken part of the temple."

6But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

But by the twenty-third year that Joash was king, the priests still had not fixed the temple.

7Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.

So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests. He asked, "Why have you not fixed the temple? Do not take any more money from the people you know. Hand it over so the temple can be fixed."

8And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house.

The priests agreed. They would not collect money from the people anymore. And they would not do the repairs themselves.

9But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.

Then Jehoiada the priest took a big wooden box. He cut a hole in the lid. He set it beside the altar, on the right as you walk in. The priests who guarded the door put all the gift money in it.

10And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD.

When they saw the box held a lot of money, two men came. One was the king's writer, and one was the head priest. They counted the money and tied it up in bags.

11And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD,

They handed the counted money to the men in charge of the work. Those men paid the workers who fixed the LORD's house. They paid the wood workers and the builders.

12And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

They also paid the men who worked with stone. They bought wood and cut stone to fix the broken parts. They paid for everything the repairs needed.

13Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD:

The gift money was not used to make silver bowls or cups. It was not used for tools to trim lamp wicks, or for trumpets. No gold or silver dishes were made with it.

14But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.

Instead, all of it was paid to the workers. With that money they fixed the LORD's house.

15Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.

No one made the money handlers show records. Those men were honest, so they were trusted.

16The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’.

Some money came from offerings people gave when they did wrong. That money did not go to the temple work. It belonged to the priests.

17Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

Around that time, Hazael the king of Aram went to war. He fought the city of Gath and took it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.

18And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.

So Joash, king of Judah, gathered up the holy gifts. Some had been given by earlier kings, his own family: Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. Joash added his own gifts too. He took all the gold from the temple and from his palace. He sent it all to Hazael, king of Aram. Then Hazael went away and left Jerusalem alone.

19And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

The other things Joash did are written down. You can read them in the record book of the kings of Judah.

20And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.

Some of his own servants made a secret plan against him. They killed Joash at Beth-millo, on the road going down to Silla.

21For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

The men who struck him were Jozachar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. Joash died, and they buried him with his family in the City of David. His son Amaziah became king after him.

10But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.

Athaliah was Ahaziah's mother. When she saw that her son was dead, she began killing the whole royal family of Judah.

11But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not.

But Jehoshabeath, a daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash, the baby son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from the king's sons who were being killed. She hid him and the woman who cared for him in a bedroom. Jehoshabeath was Ahaziah's sister and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She hid Joash from Athaliah, so Athaliah could not kill him.

12And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash stayed hidden with them in God's house for six years. During those years, Athaliah ruled the land.

1Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beersheba.

Joash was seven years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for forty years. His mother was named Zibiah, and she came from Beersheba.

2And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He did this as long as the priest Jehoiada was alive.

3And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.

Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash. Joash had sons and daughters.

4And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD.

Later on, Joash decided to fix up the temple. The temple was the house where people worshiped the LORD.

5And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.

Joash called together the priests and the Levites, the men who helped at the temple. He said, "Go to the towns of Judah. Collect the money that all Israel gives each year. Use it to fix the house of your God. Do this quickly." But the Levites did not hurry.

6And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?

So the king called for Jehoiada, the leading priest. He asked, "Why have you not made the Levites collect the money? Moses, the servant of the LORD, told Israel to pay it. The people agreed to it long ago, for the holy tent where God met them."

7For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.

The sons of the wicked woman Athaliah had broken into God's house. They had taken the holy things from the temple. They used them to worship the false gods called the Baals.

8And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD.

The king gave an order, so they made a big wooden box. They put it outside, by the gate of the LORD's house.

9And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

Then they sent word through Judah and Jerusalem. The people were told to bring the money to the LORD. It was the money Moses had asked Israel for in the desert.

10And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.

All the leaders and all the people were glad. They brought their money and dropped it in the box. They kept giving until the box was full.

11Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

The Levites carried the box to the king's officers. When the officers saw all the money, the king's writer and the chief priest's helper came. They emptied the box and carried it back to its place. They did this every day and collected a lot of money.

12And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD.

The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the men in charge of the work. Those men hired stone workers and wood workers to fix the temple. They also hired men who worked with iron and bronze.

13So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.

So the workmen did their job, and the repairs went well. They made God's house just as it was meant to be. They also made it strong again.

14And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

When the work was done, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make things for the temple. They made bowls and dishes for the services and the offerings. Some were made of gold and some of silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, offerings were burned at the temple every day.