II Chronicles 23

¹And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him.

²And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’housesof Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the sons of David.

⁴This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds;

⁵and a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of Jehovah.

⁶But let none come into the house of Jehovah, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the charge of Jehovah.

⁷And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.

⁹And Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God.

¹⁰And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.

¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him; and they said, Long live the king.

¹²And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of Jehovah:

¹³and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets; the singers also played on instruments of music, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason! treason!

¹⁴And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword: for the priest said, Slay her not in the house of Jehovah.

¹⁵So they made way for her; and she went to the entrance of the horse gate to the king’s house: and they slew her there.

¹⁶And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be Jehovah’s people.

¹⁷And all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

¹⁸And Jehoiada appointed the officers of the house of Jehovah under the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of Jehovah, to offer the burnt-offerings of Jehovah, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David.

¹⁹And he set the porters at the gates of the house of Jehovah, that none that was unclean in anything should enter in.

²⁰And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of Jehovah: and they came through the upper gate unto the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

²¹So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And Athaliah they had slain with the sword.

II Chronicles 23

¹Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders of hundreds—with Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.

²So they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel. And when they came to Jerusalem,

³the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. “Behold, the king’s son!” said Jehoiada. “He must reign, just as the LORD promised concerning the descendants of David.

⁴This is what you are to do: A third of you priests and Levites who come on duty on the Sabbath shall keep watch at the doors,

⁵a third shall be at the royal palace, and a third at the Foundation Gate, while all the others are in the courtyards of the house of the LORD.

⁶No one is to enter the house of the LORD except the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the LORD.

⁷The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

⁸So the Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions.

⁹Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields of King David that were in the house of God.

¹⁰He stationed all the troops, with their weapons in hand, surrounding the king by the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

¹¹Then Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went out to them in the house of the LORD.

¹³And she looked out and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!”

¹⁴And Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, saying, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the house of the LORD.”

¹⁵So they seized Athaliah as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate to the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.

¹⁶Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people.

¹⁷So all the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

¹⁸Moreover, Jehoiada put the oversight of the house of the LORD into the hands of the Levitical priests, whom David had appointed over the house of the LORD, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD as is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and song, as ordained by David.

¹⁹He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason.

²⁰He also took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate. They seated King Joash on the royal throne,

²¹and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been put to the sword.