^22:1The residents of Jerusalem¹ made his youngest son Ahaziah king in his place, for the raiding party that invaded the city with the Arabs had killed all the older sons.² So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. ^22:2Ahaziah was twenty-two³ years old when he became king and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter⁴ of Omri. ^22:3He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty,⁵ for his mother gave him evil advice.⁶^22:4He did evil in the sight of⁷ the Lord like Ahab’s dynasty because, after his father’s death, they⁸ gave him advice that led to his destruction. ^22:5He followed their advice and joined Ahab’s son King Joram⁹ of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria¹⁰ at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram. ^22:6Joram¹¹ returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians¹² in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Ahaziah¹³ son of King Jehoram of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he had been wounded.¹⁴

^22:7God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall through his visit to Joram.¹⁵ When Ahaziah¹⁶ arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had commissioned¹⁷ to wipe out Ahab’s family.¹⁸^22:8While Jehu was dishing out punishment to Ahab’s family, he discovered the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives who were serving Ahaziah and killed them. ^22:9He looked for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria.¹⁹ They brought him to Jehu and then executed him. They did give him a burial, for they reasoned,²⁰ “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with his whole heart.” There was no one in Ahaziah’s family strong enough to rule in his place.²¹

Athaliah is Eliminated

^22:10When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line²² of Judah.²³^22:11So Jehoshabeath,²⁴ the daughter of King Jehoram,²⁵ took Ahaziah’s son Joash and sneaked him away²⁶ from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. So Jehoshabeath the daughter of King Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah so she could not execute him. ^22:12He remained in hiding in God’s temple²⁷ for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.

^23:1In the seventh year Jehoiada made a bold move. He made a pact¹ with the officers of the units of hundreds: Azariah son of Jehoram, Ishmael son of Jehochanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. ^23:2They traveled throughout Judah and assembled the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the Israelite family leaders.

They came to Jerusalem,²^23:3and the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the temple of God. Jehoiada³ said to them, “The king’s son will rule, just as the Lord promised David’s descendants. ^23:4This is what you must do. One third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors. ^23:5Another third of you will be stationed at the royal palace and still another third at the Foundation Gate. All the others⁴ will stand in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple. ^23:6No one must enter the Lord’s temple except the priests and Levites who are on duty. They may enter because they are ceremonially pure. All the others should carry out their assigned service to the Lord. ^23:7The Levites must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever tries to enter the temple⁵ must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes.”⁶

^23:8The Levites and all the men of Judah⁷ did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath. Jehoiada the priest did not release his divisions from their duties. ^23:9Jehoiada the priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and shields⁸ that were kept in God’s temple. ^23:10He placed the men at their posts, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king.⁹^23:11Jehoiada and his sons led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia.¹⁰ They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head.¹¹ They declared, “Long live the king!”

^23:12When Athaliah heard the royal guard¹² shouting and praising the king, she joined the crowd¹³ at the Lord’s temple. ^23:13Then she saw¹⁴ the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters stood beside the king and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets, and the musicians with various instruments were leading the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and yelled, “Treason! Treason!”¹⁵^23:14Jehoiada the priest sent out the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, and ordered them, “Bring her outside the temple to the guards.¹⁶ Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple.¹⁷^23:15They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance.¹⁸ There they executed her.

^23:16Jehoiada then drew up a covenant stipulating that he, all the people, and the king should be loyal to the Lord.¹⁹^23:17All the people went and demolished²⁰ the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols.²¹ They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. ^23:18Jehoiada then assigned the duties of the Lord’s temple to the priests, the Levites whom David had assigned to the Lord’s temple. They were responsible for offering burnt sacrifices to the Lord with joy and music, according to²² the law of Moses and the edict of David. ^23:19He posted guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple, so no one who was ceremonially unclean in any way could enter. ^23:20He summoned²³ the officers of the units of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of land, and he then led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne. ^23:21All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah.²⁴

Joash’s Reign

^24:1Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem.¹ His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. ^24:2Joash did what the Lord approved² throughout the lifetime³ of Jehoiada the priest. ^24:3Jehoiada chose two wives for him who gave him sons and daughters.

^24:4Joash was determined to repair the Lord’s temple.⁴^24:5He assembled the priests and Levites and ordered them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the annual quota of silver from all Israel for repairs on the temple of your God. Be quick about it!” But the Levites delayed.

^24:6So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest,⁵ and said to him, “Why have you not made⁶ the Levites collect⁷ from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?”⁸^24:7(Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) ^24:8The king ordered a chest to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple.⁹^24:9An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God’s servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness.¹⁰^24:10All the officials and all the people gladly brought their silver and threw it into the chest until it was full. ^24:11Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver.

^24:12The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction foremen¹¹ assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord’s temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord’s temple. ^24:13They worked hard and made the repairs.¹² They followed the measurements specified for God’s temple and restored it.¹³^24:14When they were finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the Lord’s temple, including items used in the temple service and for burnt sacrifices, pans, and various other gold and silver items. Throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime, burnt sacrifices were offered regularly in the Lord’s temple.

^24:15Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130.¹⁴^24:16He was buried in the City of David¹⁵ with the kings, because he had accomplished good in Israel and for God and his temple.

^24:17After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him.¹⁶ The king listened to their advice.¹⁷^24:18They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors,¹⁸ and worshiped¹⁹ the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. ^24:19The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him.²⁰ They warned²¹ the people, but they would not pay attention. ^24:20God’s Spirit energized²² Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’ ” ^24:21They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. ^24:22King Joash disregarded²³ the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s²⁴ son. As…

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Footnotes

1 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
2 Heb “for all the older [ones] the raiding party that came with the Arabs to the camp had killed.”
3 Heb “forty-two,” but the parallel passage in 2 Kgs 8:26 reads “twenty-two” along with some of the and the .
4 The Hebrew term בַּת (bat, “daughter”) can refer, as here, to a granddaughter. See I בַּת 1.
5 Heb “and also he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab.”
6 Heb “for his mother was his adviser to do evil.”
7 Heb “in the eyes of.”
8 That is, the members of Ahab’s royal house.
9 Jehoram and Joram are alternate spellings of the Israelite king’s name (also in vv. 6–7). The shorter form is used in these verse to avoid confusion with King Jehoram of Judah, father of Azariah.
10 Heb “Aram” (also in v. 6).
11 Heb “he”; the referent (Joram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
13 Most Hebrew read “Azariah.” A few Hebrew , the , , and read “Ahaziah” (cf. 2 Kgs 8:29).
14 Heb “because he was sick,” presumably referring to the wounds he received in the battle with the Syrians.
15 Heb “From God was the downfall of Ahaziah by going to Joram.”
16 Heb “he”; the referent (Ahaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 Heb “anointed.”
18 Heb “to cut off the house of Ahab.”
19 For location see ; ; ; ; .
20 Heb “they said.”
21 Heb “and there was no one belonging to the house of Ahaziah to retain strength for kingship.”
22 Heb “she arose and she destroyed all the royal offspring.” The verb קוּם (qum, “arise”) is here used in an auxiliary sense to indicate that she embarked on a campaign to destroy the royal offspring. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
23 Heb “house of Judah.”
24 Jehoshabeath is a variant spelling of the name Jehosheba (2 Kgs 11:2).
25 Heb “the king”; the referent (King Jehoram, see later in this verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 Heb “stole.”
27 Heb “and he was with them in the house of God hiding.”
1 Or “covenant.”
2 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
3 Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada the priest, cf. v. 8) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 Heb “all the people.”
5 Heb “house.”
6 Heb “and be with the king in his coming out and in his going out.”
7 Heb “all Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
8 The Hebrew text lists two different types of shields here. Most translations render “the large and small shields” (so , , ; “King David’s spears, shields, and bucklers”).
9 Heb “and he stationed all the people, each with his weapon in his hand, from the south shoulder of the house to the north shoulder of the house, at the altar and at the house, near the king all around.”
10 The Hebrew word עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain (see the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [], ). Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant (see ).
11 Or “they made him king and anointed him.”
12 Heb “and Athaliah heard the sound of the people, the runners.”
13 Heb “she came to the people.”
14 Heb “and she saw, and behold.”
15 Or “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”
16 Heb “ranks.”
17 Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.’ ”
18 Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went through the entrance of the gate of the horses [into] the house of the king.” Some English versions treat the phrase “gate of the horses” as the name of the gate (“the Horse Gate”; e.g., , , , ).
19 Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and [between] all the people and [between] the king, to become a people for the Lord.”
20 Or “tore down.”
21 Or “images.”
22 Heb “as it is written in.”
23 Heb “took.”
24 Heb “killed Athaliah with the sword.”
1 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
2 Heb “and Joash did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”
3 Heb “all the days of.”
4 Heb “and it was, later, there was with the heart of Joash to repair the house of the Lord.”
5 Heb “Jehoiada the head”; the word “priest” not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
6 Heb “sought.”
7 Heb “bring.”
8 Heb “the tent of testimony.”
9 Heb “and the king said [it] and they made a chest and placed it in the gate of the house of the Lord outside.”
10 Heb “and they gave voice in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the tax of Moses the servant of God upon Israel in the wilderness.”
11 Heb “doers of the work.”
12 Heb “and the doers of the work worked, and the repairs went up for the work by their hand.”
13 Heb “and they caused the house of God to stand according to its measurements and they strengthened it.”
14 Heb “and Jehoiada grew old and was full of days and died; [he was] one hundred thirty years old when he died.”
15 The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
16 Heb “came and bowed down to the king.”
17 Heb “to them.”
18 Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24).
19 Heb “served.”
20 Heb “and he sent among them prophets to bring them back to the Lord.”
21 Heb “testified among.”
22 Heb “clothed.”
23 Heb “did not remember.”
24 Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.