22The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king in place of Jehoram. Ahaziah was Jehoram’s youngest son. Robbers had come with the Arabs into Jehoram’s camp. The robbers had killed all of his older sons. So Ahaziah, the king of Judah, began to rule. He was the son of Jehoram.

²Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri.

³Ahaziah also followed the ways of the royal family of Ahab. That’s because Ahaziah’s mother gave him bad advice. She told him to do what was wrong. ⁴So he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as the family of Ahab had done.

After Ahaziah’s father died, the members of Ahab’s family became his advisers. That’s what destroyed him. ⁵He also followed their advice when he joined forces with Joram, the king of Israel. They went to war against Hazael at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was the son of Ahab. Hazael was king of Aram. The soldiers of Aram wounded Joram. ⁶So he returned to Jezreel to give his wounds time to heal. His enemies had wounded him at Ramoth in his battle against Hazael, the king of Aram.

Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, went down to Jezreel. He went there to see Joram. That’s because Joram had been wounded. Ahaziah was king of Judah. Joram was the son of Ahab.

⁷Through Ahaziah’s visit to Joram, God caused Ahaziah to fall from power. When Ahaziah arrived, he rode out with Joram to meet Jehu, the son of Nimshi. The Lord had anointed Jehu to destroy the royal family of Ahab. ⁸So Jehu punished Ahab’s family, just as the Lord had told him to. While he was doing it, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives. They had been serving Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them.

⁹Then he went to look for Ahaziah. Jehu’s men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. People buried his body, because they said, “He was a grandson of Jehoshaphat, who followed the Lord with all his heart.”

So no one in the royal family of Ahaziah was powerful enough to keep the kingdom.

Athaliah and Joash

¹⁰Athaliah was Ahaziah’s mother. She saw that her son was dead. So she began to wipe out the whole royal house of Judah.

¹¹But Jehosheba went and got Joash, the son of Ahaziah. She was the daughter of King Jehoram. She stole Joash away from among the royal princes. All of them were about to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, was the wife of the priest Jehoiada. She was also Ahaziah’s sister.

So Jehosheba hid the child from Athaliah. That’s why Athaliah couldn’t kill him. ¹²The child remained hidden with the priest and his wife at God’s temple for six years. Athaliah ruled over the land during that time.

23When Joash was seven years old, Jehoiada showed how strong he was. He made a covenant with the commanders of companies of 100 men. The commanders were Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. ²They went all through Judah. They gathered together the Levites and the leaders of Israelite families from all of the towns. They came to Jerusalem. ³The whole community made a covenant with the new king at God’s temple.

Jehoiada said to them, “Ahaziah’s son will rule over Judah. That’s what the Lord promised concerning the family line of David. ⁴Here’s what I want you to do. A third of you priests and Levites who are going on duty on the Sabbath day must guard the doors. ⁵A third of you must guard the royal palace. And a third of you must guard the Foundation Gate. All of the other men must guard the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.

⁶“Don’t let anyone enter the temple except the priests and Levites who are on duty. They can enter because they are set apart to the Lord. But all of the other men must guard the places where the Lord has sent them.

⁷“The Levites must station themselves around the new king. Each man must have his weapons in his hand. Anyone else who enters the temple must be put to death. Stay close to the king no matter where he goes.”

⁸The Levites did just as the priest Jehoiada ordered. So did all of the men of Judah. Each commander got his men. Some of the men were going on duty on the Sabbath day. Others were going off duty. Jehoiada didn’t let any of the groups go. ⁹Then he gave weapons to the commanders of the companies. He gave them spears, large shields and small shields. The weapons had belonged to King David. They had been in God’s temple.

¹⁰Jehoiada stationed all of the men around the new king. Each man had his weapon in his hand. They were standing near the altar and the temple. They stood from the south side of the temple to its north side. Their line formed half of a circle.

¹¹Jehoiada and his sons brought Ahaziah’s son out. They put the crown on him. They gave him a copy of the covenant. And they announced that he was king. They anointed him. Then they shouted, “May the king live a long time!”

¹²Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the new king. So she went to them at the Lord’s temple.

¹³She looked. And there was the king! He was standing next to his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpet players were standing beside the king. All of the people of the land were filled with joy. They were blowing trumpets. Singers with their musical instruments were leading the songs of praise.

Then Athaliah tore her royal robes. She shouted, “Treason! It’s treason!”

¹⁴The priest Jehoiada sent out the commanders of the companies of 100 men. They were in charge of the troops. He said to them, “Bring her away from the temple between the line of guards. Use your swords to kill anyone who follows her.” The priest had said, “Don’t put her to death at the Lord’s temple.”

¹⁵So they grabbed hold of her as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds. There they put her to death.

¹⁶Then Jehoiada made a covenant. He promised that he, the people and the king would be the Lord’s people.

¹⁷All of the people went to Baal’s temple. They tore it down. They smashed the altars and the statues of gods. They killed Mattan in front of the altars. He was the priest of Baal.

¹⁸Then Jehoiada put the priests, who were Levites, in charge of the Lord’s temple. David had given them their duties in the temple. He had appointed them to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord. He wanted them to do it in keeping with what was written in the Law of Moses. David wanted them to sing and be full of joy.

¹⁹Jehoiada stationed guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple. No one who was “unclean” in any way could enter.

²⁰Jehoiada took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all of the people of the land. He brought the new king down from the Lord’s temple. They went into the palace through the Upper Gate. Then they seated the king on the royal throne.

²¹All of the people of the land were filled with joy. And the city was quiet. That’s because Athaliah had been killed with a sword.

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