2 Kings 11–19

Athaliah Reigns over Judah

¹¹Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family.^{* 2}But Jehosheba, King Joram’s daughter, Ahaziah’s sister, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s children who were about to be killed; she put^d him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus she^e hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed;^{* 3}he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Jehoiada Anoints the Child Joash

⁴But in the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carites and of the guards and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord; then he showed them the king’s son.^{* 5}He commanded them, “This is what you are to do: one-third of you, those who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king’s house^{* 6}(another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards), shall guard the palace, ⁷and your two divisions that come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord^{f 8}shall surround the king, each with weapons in hand, and whoever approaches the ranks is to be killed. Be with the king in his comings and goings.”

⁹The captains did according to all that the priest Jehoiada commanded; each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to the priest Jehoiada.^{* 10}The priest delivered to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord;^{* 11}the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house, to guard the king on every side. ¹²Then he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant; they proclaimed him king and anointed him; they clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”^*

Death of Athaliah

¹³When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people;^{* 14}when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”^{* 15}Then the priest Jehoiada commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks and kill with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be killed in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁶So they laid hands on her; she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was put to death.

¹⁷Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people; also between the king and the people.^{* 18}Then all the people of the land 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. The priest posted guards over the house of the Lord.^{* 19}He took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land; then they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the gate of the guards to the king’s house. He took his seat on the throne of the kings.^{* 20}So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword at the king’s house.

^21gJehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.^*

The Temple Repaired

¹²In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ²Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days because the priest Jehoiada instructed him. ³Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.^*

⁴Jehoash said to the priests, “All the silver offered as sacred donations that is brought into the house of the Lord—the census tax, personal redemption payments, and silver from voluntary offerings brought into the house of the Lord^*—⁵let the priests receive from each of the donors, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” ⁶But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had made no repairs on the house.^{* 7}Therefore King Jehoash summoned the priest Jehoiada with the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore do not accept any more silver from your donors but hand it over for the repair of the house.”^{* 8}So the priests agreed that they would neither accept more silver from the people nor repair the house.

⁹Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, made a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord; the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the silver that was brought into the house of the Lord.^{* 10}Whenever they saw that there was a great deal of silver in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest went up, cast the silver that was found in the house of the Lord into ingots, and counted it.^{* 11}They gave the silver that was weighed out into the hands of the workers who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; then they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, ¹²to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, as well as for any outlay for repairs of the house.^{* 13}But for the house of the Lord no basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold or of silver were made from the silver that was brought into the house of the Lord,^{* 14}for that was given to the workers who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. ¹⁵They did not ask an accounting from those into whose hand they delivered the silver to pay out to the workers, for they dealt honestly.^{* 16}The silver from the guilt offerings and the silver from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.^*

Hazael Threatens Jerusalem

¹⁷At that time King Hazael of Aram went up, fought against Gath, and took it. But when Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem,^{* 18}King Jehoash of Judah took all the votive gifts that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his ancestors, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, as well as his own votive gifts, all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent these to King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.^*

Death of Joash

¹⁹Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? ²⁰His servants arose, devised a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.^{* 21}It was Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. He was buried with his ancestors in the city of David; then his son Amaziah succeeded him.^*

Jehoahaz Reigns over Israel

¹³In the twenty-third year of King Joash son of Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned seventeen years. ²He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.^{* 3}The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so he gave them repeatedly into the hand of King Hazael of Aram, then into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael.^{* 4}But Jehoahaz entreated the Lord, and the Lord heeded him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.^{* 5}Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so they escaped from the hand of the Arameans, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.^{* 6}Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam that he caused Israel to sin but walked^h in them; the sacred poleⁱ also remained in Samaria.^{* 7}So Jehoahaz was left with an army of not more than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.^{* 8}Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, including his might, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? ⁹So Jehoahaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria; then his son Joash succeeded him.^*

Jehoash Reigns over Israel

¹⁰In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned sixteen years. ¹¹He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin, but he walked in them. ¹²Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, as well as the might with which he fought against King Amaziah of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?^{* 13}So Joash slept with his ancestors, and Jeroboam sat upon his throne; Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Death of Elisha

¹⁴Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, King Joash of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”^{* 15}Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows,” so he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. ¹⁷Then he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. Then he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! For you shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”^{* 18}He continued, “Take the arrows,” and he…