Joash Repairs the Temple

1 ^cJoash¹ was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 ^dAnd Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

4 After this Joash ^edecided to ^frestore the house of the Lord. 5 And he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of ^gJudah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. 6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem ^hthe tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the congregation of Israel for ⁱthe tent of testimony?” 7 For ^jthe sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also used all ^kthe dedicated things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

8 So the king commanded, and they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. 9 And ^lproclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the Lord ^hthe tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness. 10 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.² 11 And whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was much money in it, the king’s secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. Thus they did day after day, and collected money in abundance. 12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had charge of the work of the house of the Lord, and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. 13 So those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward in their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it. 14 And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and with it ^mwere made utensils for the house of the Lord, both for the service and for the burnt offerings, and dishes for incense and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord regularly all the days of Jehoiada.

15 But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. 16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.

17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served ^othe Asherim and the idols. And ^pwrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 ^qYet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. ^rThese testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Joash’s Treachery

20 ^sThen the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah ^tthe son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ^u‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? ^vBecause you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” 21 But ^wthey conspired against him, ^xand by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see ^yand avenge!”³

Joash Assassinated

23 At the end of the year ^zthe army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, ^athe Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, ^vbecause Judah⁴ had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they ^bexecuted judgment on Joash.

25 When they had departed from him, leaving him ^cseverely wounded, ^dhis servants conspired against him because of the blood of ^ethe son⁵ of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, ^fbut they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. 26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabite. 27 Accounts of his sons and of the many oracles against him and of ^gthe rebuilding⁶ of the house of God are written in the ^hStory⁷ of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash¹ began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Nevertheless, ^rthe high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.

Jehoash Repairs the Temple

4 Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things ^sthat is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and ^tthe money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” 6 But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. 7 Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” 8 So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.

9 Then Jehoiada the priest took ^ua chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. 10 And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted ^vthe money that was found in the house of the Lord. 11 Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, 12 and ^wto the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. 13 ^xBut there were not made for the house of the Lord ^ybasins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, 14 for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. 15 And ^zthey did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. 16 The money from ^athe guilt offerings and the money from the ^bsin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; ^cit belonged to the priests.

17 At that time ^dHazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it. But when Hazael set his face ^eto go up against Jerusalem, 18 Jehoash king of Judah ^ftook all the sacred gifts that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, ^gand his own sacred gifts, and 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 Hazael king of Syria. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.

The Death of Joash

19 Now 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? 20 ^hHis servants arose and made a conspiracy ⁱand struck down Joash in the house of ^jMillo, on the way that goes down to Silla. 21 It was ^kJozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of ^kShomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, ^land Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ⁿAsaph.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^vhis own city. 2 ^wAnd behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^xsaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^y“Take heart, my son; ^zyour sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^a“This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, ^bknowing¹ their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, ^cthey were afraid, and ^cthey glorified God, who had ^dgiven such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

9 ^eAs Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^fMatthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

10 And as Jesus² reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^gtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^h“Why does your teacher eat with ^gtax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn ⁱwhat this means: ^j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^kI came not to call the righteous, ^lbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

14 Then ^mthe disciples of John came to him, saying, ⁿ“Why do we and ^othe Pharisees fast,³ but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, ^p“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^qThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^rthen they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old ^swineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

18 ^tWhile he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and ^uknelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman ^vwho had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched ^wthe fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ^x“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” ^yAnd instantly⁴ the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw ^zthe flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for ^athe girl is not dead but ^bsleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But ^cwhen the crowd had been put outside, he went in and ^dtook her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

27 ^eAnd as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, ^fSon of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 ^gThen he touched their eyes, saying, ^h“According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, ⁱ“See that no one knows about it.” 31 ^jBut they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

32 As they were going away, behold, a ^kdemon-oppressed man who was mute ^lwas brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds ^mmarveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 ⁿAnd Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 ^oWhen he saw the crowds, ^phe had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^qlike sheep without a shepherd. 37 ^rThen he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ^spray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^tsend out laborers into his harvest.”