Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made aAhaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the bArabians into the camp had killed all the colder sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. 2 Ahaziah was 1forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was dAthaliah the 2granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 4 Therefore he 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 his destruction. 5 He also followed their advice, and went with 3Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 6 eThen he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And 4Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

7 His going to Joram fwas God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s 5downfall; for when he arrived, ghe went out with 6Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, hwhom the Lord had anointed to 7cut off the house of Ahab. 8 And it happened, when Jehu was iexecuting judgment on the house of Ahab, and jfound the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. 9 kThen he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of lJehoshaphat, who msought the Lord with all his heart.”

So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

10 nNow when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. 11 But 8Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took oJoash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a 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 did not kill him. 12 And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah

23 In athe seventh year bJehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of cObed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 2 And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the dchief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has esaid of the sons of David. 4 This is what you shall do: One-third of you fentering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors; 5 one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. 6 But let no one come into the house of the Lord except the priests and gthose of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord. 7 And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed hthe divisions. 9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small ishields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. 10 Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king. 11 And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, jgave him the 1Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah

12 Now when kAthaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. 13 When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and lthose who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, m“Treason! Treason!”

14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the Lord.”

15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance nof the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.

16 Then Jehoiada made a ocovenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord’s people. 17 And all the people went to the 2temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and pkilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the Lord to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had qassigned in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the rLaw of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. 19 And he set the sgatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.

20 tThen he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. 21 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple

24 Joash awas seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash bdid what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

4 Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the Lord. 5 Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and cgather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.”

However the Levites did not do it quickly. 6 dSo the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of eMoses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel, for the ftabernacle of witness?” 7 For gthe sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the hdedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.

8 Then at the king’s command ithey made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the Lord. 9 And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord jthe collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 10 Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. 11 So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s official by the hand of the Levites, and kwhen they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

12 The 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 lrepair the house of the Lord, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the Lord. 13 So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; mthey made from it articles for the house of the Lord, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

Apostasy of Joash

15 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. 16 And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. 18 Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served nwooden images and idols; and owrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 19 Yet He psent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

20 Then the Spirit of God 1came upon qZechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: r‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? sBecause you have forsaken the Lord, He …