2 Chronicles 22–24

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made ^aAhaziah his ^byoungest son king in his stead: for the ^cband of men that came with ^dthe Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. ^eSo Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. ^2fForty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah ^gthe daughter of Omri. ³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counseller to do wickedly. ⁴Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellers after the death of his father to his destruction. ⁵He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians smote Joram. ⁶And he returned to be healed in Jezreel, because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick. ⁷And the destruction of Ahaziah ^hwas of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, ⁱhe went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, ^kwhom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸And it came to pass, that when ^lJehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and ^mthe sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. ⁹ⁿAnd he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, ^othey buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who ^psought the Lord with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power ^qto keep still the kingdom.

^10rBut 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. 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. ¹²And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

XXIII.And in the seventh year ^aJehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and ^bAzariah the son of ^bObed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. ²And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of ^cIsrael, and they came to Jerusalem. ³And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as ^dthe Lord hath said of the sons of David. ⁴This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors; ⁵and a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of ^ethe foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the priests, and ^fthey that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but ^gall the people shall keep the watch of the Lord. ⁷And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be you with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. ⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest ^hdismissed not ⁱthe courses. ⁹Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. ¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the Testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. ¹²Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people ^krunning and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the Lord: ¹³and she looked, and behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and ^lsuch as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. ¹⁴Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the Lord. ¹⁵So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the ^mhorse gate by the king’s house, they slew her there.

¹⁶And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and ^mmslew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the Lord by the hand of ⁿthe priests the Levites, whom ^oDavid had distributed in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written ^pin the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. ¹⁹And he set the ^qporters at the gates of the house of the Lord, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in. ²⁰And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the Lord: and they came through the ^rhigh gate into the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. ²¹And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

XXIV.Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and ^ahe reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ²And Joash ^bdid that which was right in the sight of the Lord ^call the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³And Jehoiada took for him two wives; ^dand he begat sons and daughters. ⁴And it came to pass after this, that Joash ^ewas minded to repair the house of 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 ^fIsrael money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye haste the matter. ^gHowbeit the Levites hastened it not. 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 ^hMoses the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation of Israel, for the ⁱtabernacle of Witness? ⁷For ^kthe sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the ^ldedicate things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim. ⁸And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it ^mwithout at the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the Lord ⁿthe collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. 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. 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 ^omend the house of the Lord. ¹³So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. ¹⁴And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, ^pwhereof 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 ^qall the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵But Jehoiada waxed old, and ^rwas full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. ¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in ^fIsrael, both towards God, and towards his house. ¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. ¹⁸And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served ^sgroves and ^tidols: and ^uwrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. ^19xYet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they ^ytestified against them: but they would not give ear. ²⁰And the spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, ^zWhy transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot…