2 Chronicles 22–24

Ahaziah’s Reign

²²The inhabitants of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king as his successor, for the troops who came with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of Judah.^{* 2}Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.^{* 3}He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. ⁴He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his ruin. ⁵He even followed their advice and went with Jehoram son of King Ahab of Israel to make war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram,^{* 6}and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought King Hazael of Aram. And Ahaziah son of King Jehoram of Judah went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.^*

⁷But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.^{* 8}When Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them.^{* 9}He searched for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria and was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.^*

Athaliah Seizes the Throne

¹⁰Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family of the house of Judah.^{* 11}But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s children who were about to be killed; she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada—because she was a sister of Ahaziah—hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not kill him; ¹²he remained with them six years hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

²³But in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and entered into a compact with the commanders of the hundreds, Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.^{* 2}They went around through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns of Judah and the heads of families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. Jehoiada^x said to them, “Here is the king’s son! Let him reign, as the Lord promised concerning the sons of David.^{* 4}This is what you are to do: one-third of you, priests and Levites, who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be gatekeepers,^{* 5}one-third shall be at the king’s house, and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation, and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶Do not let anyone enter the house of the Lord except the priests and ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy, but all the other^y people shall observe the instructions of the Lord. ⁷The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand, and whoever enters the house shall be killed. Stay with the king in his comings and goings.”^*

Joash Crowned King

⁸The Levites and all Judah did according to all that the priest Jehoiada commanded; each brought his men who were to come on duty on the Sabbath with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, for the priest Jehoiada did not dismiss the divisions.^{* 9}The priest Jehoiada delivered to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of God,^{* 10}and he set all the people as a guard for the king, everyone with weapon in hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. ¹¹Then he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant; they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they shouted, “Long live the king!”^*

Death of Athaliah

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people;^{* 13}when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁴Then the priest Jehoiada brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks; anyone who follows her is to be put to the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵So they laid hands on her; she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s house, and there they put her to death.^*

¹⁶Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.^{* 18}Jehoiada assigned the care of the house of the Lord to the Levitical priests whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the Lord, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David.^{* 19}He stationed the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean.^{* 20}And he took the captains, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the upper gate to the king’s house. They set the king on the royal throne.^{* 21}So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple

²⁴Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.^{* 2}Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada.^{* 3}Jehoiada got two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

⁴Some time afterward Joash decided to restore the house of the Lord.^{* 5}He assembled the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather silver from all Israel to repair the house of your God, year by year, and see that you act quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, on^z the congregation of Israel for the tent of the covenant?”^{* 7}For the children of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God and had even used all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.^*

⁸So the king gave command, and they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹A proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness.^{* 10}All the leaders and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until it was full. ¹¹Whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officers by the Levites, when they saw that there was a large amount of silver in it, the king’s secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. So they did day after day and collected silver in abundance.^{* 12}The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who had charge of the work 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 repair the house of the Lord. ¹³So those who were engaged in the work labored, and the repairing went forward at their hands, and they restored the house of God to its proper condition and strengthened it.^{* 14}When they had finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and for the burnt offerings, and ladles, and vessels of gold and silver. They offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord regularly all the days of Jehoiada.

Apostasy of Joash

¹⁵But Jehoiada grew old and full of days and died; he was one hundred thirty years old at his death. ¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel and for God and his house.^*

¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king listened to them. ¹⁸They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and served the sacred poles^a and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.^{* 19}Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord; they testified against them, but they would not listen.^*

²⁰Then the spirit of God took possession of^b Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada; he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you.”^{* 21}But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord.^{* 22}King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown…