2 Chronicles 23
1 Then 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.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada made himself strong, and made an agreement with the captains of hundreds, Azariah, the son of Jeroham, Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, Azariah, the son of Obed, Maaseiah, the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri.
2 So 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,
And they went through Judah, getting together the Levites and the heads of families in Israel from all the towns of Judah, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 the 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.
And all the people made an agreement with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Truly, the king's son will be king, as the Lord has said about the sons of David.
4 This 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,
This is what you are to do: let a third of you, of the priests and Levites, who come in on the Sabbath, keep the doors;
5 a 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.
And a third are to be stationed at the king's house; and a third at the doorway of the horses: while all the people are waiting in the open spaces round the house of the Lord.
6 No 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.
But let no one come into the house of the Lord but only the priests and those of the Levites who have work to do there; they may go in for they are holy; but the rest of the people are to keep the orders of the Lord.
7 The 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.”
And the Levites are to make a circle round the king, every man being armed; and any man who comes into the house is to be put to death; you are to keep with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.
8 So 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.
So the Levites and all Judah did as Jehoiada the priest had given them orders: every one took with him his men, those who were to come in and those who were to go out on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada had not sent away the divisions.
9 Then 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.
Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and body-covers which had been King David's and which were kept in the house of God.
10 He 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.
And he put all the people in position, every man with his instruments of war in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left, by the altar and the house and all round the king.
11 Then 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!”
Then they made the king's son come out, and they put the crown on his head and gave him the arm-bands and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons put the holy oil on him and said, Long life to the king.
12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went out to them in the house of the LORD.
Now Athaliah, hearing the noise of the people running and praising the king, came to the people in the house of the Lord:
13 And 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!”
And looking, she saw the king in his place by the pillar at the doorway, and the captains and the horns by his side; and all the people of the land were giving signs of joy and sounding the horns; and the makers of melody were playing on instruments of music, taking the chief part in the song of praise. Then Athaliah, violently parting her robes, said, Broken faith, broken faith!
14 And 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.”
Then Jehoiada the priest gave orders to the captains of hundreds who had authority over the army, saying, Take her outside the lines, and let anyone who goes after her be put to death with the sword. For the priest said, Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.
15 So they seized Athaliah as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate to the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.
So they put their hands on her, and she went to the king's house by the doorway of the king's horses; and there she was put to death.
16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people.
And Jehoiada made an agreement between the Lord and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord's people.
17 So 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.
Then all the people went to the house of Baal and had it pulled down, and its altars and images broken up; and Mattan, the priest of Baal, they put to death before the altars.
18 Moreover, 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.
And Jehoiada put the work and the care of the house of the Lord into the hands of the priests and the Levites, who had been grouped in divisions by David to make burned offerings to the Lord, as it is recorded in the law of Moses, with joy and song as David had said.
19 He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason.
And he put door-keepers at the doors of the Lord's house, to see that no one who was unclean in any way might come in.
20 He 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,
Then he took the captains of hundreds and the chiefs and the rulers of the people and all the people of the land, and they came down with the king from the house of the Lord through the higher doorway into the king's house, and put the king on the seat of the kingdom.
21 and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been put to the sword.
So all the people of the land were glad and the town was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.
