2 Chronicles 22–24

Chapter 22

Ahaziah Succeeds Jehoram in 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 slain all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

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.

⁴He did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to ^ahis destruction.

Ahaziah Allies 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 ²wounded ³Joram.

⁶So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds ¹which they had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And ²Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

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

Jehu Murders Princes of Judah

^8aIt came about when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers ministering to Ahaziah, and slew them.

^9aHe also sought Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding 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 the Lord with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.

^10aNow when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal ¹offspring 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 placed 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 that she would not put him to death.

¹²He was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Chapter 23

Jehoiada Sets Joash on the Throne of Judah

^1aNow in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took captains 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.

²They went throughout 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 made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And ¹Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, ^aas the Lord 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,

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

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

⁷“The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus 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 captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God.

¹⁰He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right ¹side of the house to the left side 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 Murdered

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came into the house of the Lord to the people.

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

¹⁴Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out ¹between the ranks; and whoever follows her, put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.”

¹⁵So they ¹seized her, and when she arrived at the entrance of ^athe Horse Gate of the king’s house, they ^bput her to death there.

Reforms Carried Out

¹⁶Then ^aJehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.

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

¹⁸Moreover, Jehoiada placed the offices of the house of the Lord under the ¹authority of ^athe Levitical priests, ^bwhom David had assigned over the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses—^cwith rejoicing and singing according to the ²order of David.

¹⁹He stationed ^athe gatekeepers of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.

^20aHe took the captains 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 the Lord, and came through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they placed the king upon the royal throne.

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

Chapter 24

Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

^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.

^2aJoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

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

Faithless Priests

⁴Now it came about after this that Joash ¹decided ^ato restore the house of the Lord.

⁵He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect 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 summoned 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 the Lord 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 the Lord for the Baals.

Temple Repaired

⁸So the king commanded, and ^athey made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord.

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

¹⁰All the officers and all the people rejoiced and brought in their levies and ¹dropped them into the chest until they had finished.

¹¹It came about whenever the chest was brought in to the king’s officer by 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.

¹²The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service 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 ¹repair the house of the Lord.

¹³So the workmen 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 finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and the burnt offering, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵Now when Jehoiada ¹reached a ripe old age he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death.

¹⁶They buried him ^ain the city of David among the kings, because he had done well 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.

¹⁸They abandoned ^athe house of the Lord, 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 the Lord; though they testified against them, they would not listen.

Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada

^20aThen the Spirit of God ¹came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘^bWhy do you transgress the commandments of…