2 Chronicles 22–24

CHAPTER 22

Ahaziah Reigns over Judah

^1aThen the inhabitants of Jerusalem made ¹Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with ^bthe Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah became king.

²Ahaziah was ¹twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the ²granddaughter of Omri.

³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly.

⁴And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to ^ahis destruction.

Ahaziah Goes with Jehoram of Israel

⁵He also walked according to their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the ^1aArameans struck ²Joram.

⁶So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they caused by striking him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And ¹Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

⁷Now ^athe downfall of Ahaziah was from God, in that ¹he went to Joram. And when he came, ^bhe went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, ^cwhom Yahweh had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

Jehu Kills the Princes of Judah

^8aNow it happened when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers attending to Ahaziah, and killed them.

^9aAnd he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding himself in Samaria; they brought him to Jehu, put him to death, ^band buried him. For they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, ^cwho sought Yahweh with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.

^10aNow Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son had died. So she rose and destroyed all the royal seed of the house of Judah.

¹¹But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. 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 she did not put him to death.

¹²So he was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah was reigning over the land.

CHAPTER 23

Jehoiada Makes Joash King

^1aNow in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took commanders of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him.

²And they went around Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of ^aIsrael, and they came to Jerusalem.

³Then all the assembly cut a covenant with the king in the house of God. And ¹Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, ^aas Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David.

⁴“This is the thing which you shall do: one-third of you, of the priests and Levites ^awho come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers at the thresholds,

⁵and one-third shall be at the king’s house, and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of Yahweh.

⁶“But let no one enter the house of Yahweh except the priests and ^athe ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people keep the charge of Yahweh.

⁷“And the Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be put to death. And be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of ^athe divisions.

⁹Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and the shields and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God.

¹⁰And he caused all the people to stand, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right ¹side of the house to the left ²side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king.

¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him ^athe testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “^bLong live the king!”

Athaliah Put to Death

¹²Then Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, so she came into the house of Yahweh to the people.

¹³And she looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the commanders and the ¹trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land were glad and blew trumpets, the singers with their musical instruments ²leading the praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of hundreds who were appointed over the military force and said to them, “Bring her out ¹between the ranks; and whoever follows her, let him be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “You shall not put her to death in the house of Yahweh.”

¹⁵So they laid hands on her, and when she arrived at the entrance of ^athe Horse Gate of the king’s house, they ^bput her to death there.

Jehoiada Cuts a Covenant

¹⁶Then ^aJehoiada cut a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the people of Yahweh.

¹⁷And all the people came to the house of Baal and tore it down, and his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they ^akilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

¹⁸And Jehoiada placed the assignments concerning the house of Yahweh in the hand of ^athe Levitical priests, ^bwhom David had divided by lot to be over the house of Yahweh, to offer the burnt offerings of Yahweh, as it is written in the law of Moses—^cwith gladness and singing according to the ¹order of David.

¹⁹And he caused ^athe gatekeepers of the house of Yahweh to stand, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.

^20aAnd he took the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of Yahweh, and they came through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they sat the king upon the royal throne.

²¹So ^aall of the people of the land were glad, and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.

CHAPTER 24

Joash Reigns over Judah

^1aJoash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba.

^2aAnd Joash did what was right in the sight of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³And Jehoiada took up two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

The Levites Did Not Act Quickly

⁴Now it happened afterwards, that Joash ¹had in his heart ^ato restore the house of Yahweh.

⁵And he gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all ^aIsrael to ¹repair the house of your God ²annually, and you shall do the matter quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly.

⁶So the king called for Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem ^athe levy fixed by Moses the servant of Yahweh on the congregation of Israel ^bfor the tent of the testimony?”

⁷For ^athe sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and even ¹used the holy things of the house of Yahweh for the Baals.

The House of Yahweh Restored

⁸So the king said the word, and ^athey made a chest and put it outside by the gate of the house of Yahweh.

^9aAnd they ¹made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to Yahweh ^bthe levy fixed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰And all the officials and all the people were glad and brought in their levies and ¹dropped them into the chest until they had ²finished.

¹¹Now it happened that whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by the hand of the Levites, and when ^athey saw that there was much money, then the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come, empty the chest, take it, and return it to its place. Thus they did daily and collected much money.

¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh; and they hired masons and ¹carpenters to restore the house of Yahweh, and also craftsmen in iron and bronze to ²repair the house of Yahweh.

¹³So those who did the work labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ¹restored the house of God ²according to its specifications and strengthened it.

¹⁴When they had completed, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of Yahweh, utensils for the ministry and the burnt offering, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they were offering burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵Then Jehoiada became old and full of days, and he died; he was 130 years old at his death.

¹⁶They buried him ^ain the city of David among the kings, because he had done what is good in ^bIsrael and ¹to God and His house.

¹⁷But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them.

¹⁸And they forsook ^athe house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and ^bserved the ¹Asherim and the idols; so ^cwrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt.

¹⁹Yet ^aHe sent prophets to them to bring them back to Yahweh; though they testified against them, they did not give ear.

People Conspire Against Zechariah

^20aNow the Spirit of…