2 Chronicles 22:10–24:1

^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.