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.

Amaziah Reigns in Judah

1 ⁱAmaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, ^jyet not with a whole heart. 3 And as soon as the royal power was firmly his, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father. 4 But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, ^k“Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.”

Amaziah’s Victories

5 Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers’ houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those ^ltwenty years old and upward, and found that they were ^m300,000 choice men, fit for war, ⁿable to handle spear and shield. 6 He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents⁸ of silver. 7 But ^oa man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. 8 But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? ^pFor God has power to help or to cast down.” 9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” 10 Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger. 11 But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the ^qValley of Salt and struck down ^r10,000 men of Seir. 12 The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces. 13 But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, ^sfrom Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil.

Amaziah’s Idolatry

14 After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, ^the brought the gods ^rof the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them. 15 Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people ^uwho did not deliver their own people from your hand?” 16 But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that ^vGod has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

Israel Defeats Amaziah

17 ^wThen Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” 18 And Joash the king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, ^x“A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 19 You say, ‘See, I⁹ have struck down Edom,’ and ^yyour heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. But now stay at home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, ^zbecause they had sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 23 And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of ^aAhaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for 400 cubits,¹⁰ from ^bthe Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 24 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, in the care of ^cObed-edom. He seized also the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

25 ^dAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 26 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, from first to last, are they not written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel? 27 From the time when he turned away from the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. 28 And they brought him upon horses, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David.¹¹

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 And when he returned to ^tCapernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 ^uAnd they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, ^vthey removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus ^wsaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, ^xyour sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? ^yHe is blaspheming! ^zWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, ^aperceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that ^bthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^cglorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

13 He went out again beside the sea, and ^dall the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 ^eAnd as he passed by, he saw ^fLevi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many ^gtax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And ^hthe scribes of¹ the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ^g“Why does he eat² with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ⁱI came not to call the righteous, ^jbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

18 Now ^kJohn’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ^l“Why do John’s disciples and ^mthe disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, ⁿ“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 ^oThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^pthen they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old ^qwineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”³

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 ^rOne Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^sbegan to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^twhy are they doing ^uwhat is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, ^v“Have you never read ^wwhat David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{4 x}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^ythe bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, ^z“The Sabbath was made for man, ^anot man for the Sabbath. 28 So ^bthe Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”