2 Chronicles 21:1–23:21
21 And aJehoshaphat 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.
4 Now when Jehoram 2was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.
5 bJehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of cAhab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 7 Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the dcovenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his esons forever.
8 fIn his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. 11 Moreover he made 3high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to gcommit harlotry, and led Judah astray.
12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,
Thus says the Lord God of your father David:
Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have hmade Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to iplay the harlot like the jharlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have kkilled your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very sick with a ldisease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.
16 Moreover the mLord nstirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the oArabians who were near the Ethiopians. 17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also phis sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except 4Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18 After all this the Lord struck him qin his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no 5burning for him, like rthe burning for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
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.
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.
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!”
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.