2 Chronicles 23

1 And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of the 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.

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.

2 And they went about in Judah and gathered together the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel; and they came to Jerusalem.

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,

3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah has said of the sons of David.

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.

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

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,

5 and 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.

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.

6 But let none come into the house of Jehovah except the priests and those of the Levites that do the service; they shall go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of Jehovah.

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.

7 And the Levites shall encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that comes into the house shall be put to death; and ye shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.

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.”

8 And 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 them that were to go forth on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest did not liberate the divisions.

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.

9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of the hundreds king David's spears and shields and targets, which were in the house of God.

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.

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

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.

11 And they brought forth 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 said, Long live the king!

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!”

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

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

13 And she looked, and behold, the king stood on his dais at the entrance, and the princes and the trumpets were by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets; and the singers [were there] with the instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. And Athaliah rent her garments, and said, Conspiracy! Conspiracy!

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!”

14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of the hundreds that were set over the host, and said to them, Lead her forth without the ranks; and whosoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword; for the priest said, Ye shall not put her to death in the house of Jehovah.

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.”

15 And they made way for her, and she went through the entrance of the horse-gate into the king's house, and they put her to death there.

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

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

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

17 And all the people went into the house of Baal, and broke it down; and they broke his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

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.

18 And Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of Jehovah under the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had set by classes over the house of Jehovah to offer up Jehovah's burnt-offerings, as it is written in the law of Moses, — with rejoicing and with singing according to the directions of David.

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.

19 And he set the doorkeepers at the gates of the house of Jehovah, that no one unclean in anything should enter in.

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

20 And he took the captains of the 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 into the king's house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

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,

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

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