2 Kings 11–12

Athaliah and Joash

11When Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead, she killed all the royal family. ²But Jehosheba, King Jehoram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister, took Joash, Ahaziah’s son. She stole him from among the other sons of the king who were about to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah, so he was not killed. ³He hid with her in the Temple of the Lord for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.

⁴In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of groups of a hundred men, as well as the Carites. ⁿ He brought them together in the Temple of the Lord and made an agreement with them. There, in the Temple of the Lord, he made them promise loyalty, and then he showed them the king’s son. ⁵He commanded them, “This is what you must do. A third of you who go on duty on the Sabbath will guard the king’s palace. ⁶A third of you will be at the Sur Gate, and another third will be at the gate behind the guard. This way you will guard the Temple. ⁷The two groups who go off duty on the Sabbath must protect the Temple of the Lord for the king. ⁸All of you must stand around the king, with weapons in hand. Kill anyone who comes near. Stay close to the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”

⁹The commanders over a hundred men obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest had commanded. Each one took his men who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰He gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were kept in the Temple of the Lord.

Joash Becomes King

¹¹Then each guard took his place with his weapons in his hand. There were guards from the south side of the Temple to the north side. They stood by the altar and the Temple and around the king. ¹²Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him a copy of the agreement. They appointed him king and poured olive oil on him. Then they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

¹³When Athaliah heard the noise of the guards and the people, she went to them at the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁴She looked, and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and trumpeters were standing beside him, and all the people of the land were very happy and were blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Traitors! Traitors!”

¹⁵Jehoiada the priest gave orders to the commanders of a hundred men, who led the army. He said, “Surround her with soldiers and kill with a sword anyone who follows her.” He commanded this because he had said, “Don’t put Athaliah to death in the Temple of the Lord.” ¹⁶So they caught her when she came to the horses’ entrance near the palace. There she was put to death.

¹⁷Then Jehoiada made an agreement between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s special people. He also made an agreement between the king and the people. ¹⁸All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing the altars and idols. They also killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.

Then Jehoiada the priest placed guards at the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁹He took with him the commanders of a hundred men and the Carites, the royal bodyguards, as well as the guards and all the people of the land. Together they took the king out of the Temple of the Lord and went into the palace through the gate of the guards. Then the king sat on the royal throne. ²⁰So all the people of the land were very happy, and Jerusalem had peace, because Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the palace.

²¹Joash was seven years old when he became king.

12Joash became king of Judah in Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel, and he ruled for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, and she was from Beersheba. ²Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest taught him. ³But the places where gods were worshiped were not removed; the people still made sacrifices and burned incense there.

Joash Repairs the Temple

⁴Joash said to the priests, “Take all the money brought as offerings to the Temple of the Lord. This includes the money each person owes in taxes and the money each person promises or brings freely to the Lord. ⁵Each priest will take the money from the people he serves. Then the priests must repair any damage they find in the Temple.”

⁶But by the twenty-third year Joash was king, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. ⁷So King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage of the Temple? Don’t take any more money from the people you serve, but hand over the money for the repair of the Temple.” ⁸The priests agreed not to take any more money from the people and not to repair the Temple themselves.

⁹Jehoiada the priest took a box and made a hole in the top of it. Then he put it by the altar, on the right side as the people came into the Temple of the Lord. The priests guarding the doorway put all the money brought to the Temple of the Lord into the box.

¹⁰Each time the priests saw that the box was full of money, the king’s royal secretary and the high priest came. They counted the money that had been brought to the Temple of the Lord, and they put it into bags. ¹¹Next they weighed the money and gave it to the people in charge of the work on the Temple. With it they paid the carpenters and the builders who worked on the Temple of the Lord, ¹²as well as the bricklayers and stonecutters. They also used the money to buy timber and cut stone to repair the damage of the Temple of the Lord. It paid for everything.

¹³The money brought into the Temple of the Lord was not used to make silver cups, wick trimmers, bowls, trumpets, or gold or silver vessels. ¹⁴They paid the money to the workers, who used it to repair the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁵They did not demand to know how the money was spent, because the workers were honest. ¹⁶The money from the penalty offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the Temple of the Lord, because it belonged to the priests.

Joash Saves Jerusalem

¹⁷About this time Hazael king of Aram attacked Gath and captured it. Then he went to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁸Joash king of Judah took all the holy things given by his ancestors, the kings of Judah—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. He also took his own holy things as well as the gold that was found in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the gold from the palace. Joash sent all this treasure to Hazael king of Aram, who turned away from Jerusalem.

¹⁹Everything else Joash did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. ²⁰His officers made plans against him and killed him at Beth Millo on the road down to Silla. ²¹The officers who killed him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. Joash was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, and Amaziah, his son, became king in his place.