2 Chronicles 23

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

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 And they go around in Judah, and gather the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and heads of the fathers of Israel, and come 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 and all the assembly make a covenant in the house of God with the king, and he says to them, “Behold, the son of the king reigns, as YHWH spoke concerning the sons 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] the thing that you do: the third of you, going in on the Sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, [are] for gatekeepers of the thresholds,

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 and the third [are] at the house of the king, and the third at the Foundation Gate, and all the people [are] in the courts of the house of YHWH.

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 And none enter the house of YHWH except the priests, and those ministering of the Levites (they go in for they [are] holy), and all the people keep the watch of YHWH;

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 and the Levites have surrounded the king all around, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who has gone into the house is put to death; and be with the king in his coming in and in his going out.”

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 And the Levites and all Judah do according to all that Jehoiada the priest has commanded, and each takes his men going in on the Sabbath, with those going out on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest has not let away 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 And Jehoiada the priest gives to the heads of the hundreds the spears, and the shields, and the bucklers that [are] King David’s, that [are] 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 and he stations the whole of the people, and each [with] his dart in his hand, from the right shoulder of the house to the left shoulder of the house, at the altar, and at the house, by the king, all around.

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 And they bring out the son of the king, and put the crown on him, and [give him] the Testimony, and cause him to reign; and Jehoiada and his sons anoint him, and say, “Let the king live!”

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 And Athaliah hears the voice of the people who are running, and who are praising the king, and she comes to the people [in] the house of YHWH,

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 sees, and behold, the king is standing by his pillar in the entrance, and the heads, and the trumpets [are] by the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and shouting with trumpets, and the singers with instruments of song, and the teachers, to praise, and Athaliah tears her garments and says, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

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 brings out the heads of the hundreds, inspectors of the force, and says to them, “Take her out from within the rows, and he who has gone after her is put to death by the sword”; for the priest said, “Do not put her to death [in] the house of YHWH.”

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 And they make sides for her, and she comes to the entrance of the Horse Gate at the house of the king, and they put her to death there.

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 And Jehoiada makes a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, to be for a people to YHWH;

And Jehoiada made an agreement between the Lord and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord's people.

17 and all the people enter the house of Ba‘al, and break it down, indeed, they have broken his altars and his images, and they have slain Mattan priest of Ba‘al before 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 And Jehoiada puts the offices of the house of YHWH into the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had apportioned over the house of YHWH, to cause the burnt-offerings of YHWH to ascend, as written in the Law of Moses, with joy, and with singing, by the hands of 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 and he stations the gatekeepers over the gates of the house of YHWH, and the unclean in anything do not go in.

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 And he takes the heads of the hundreds, and the majestic ones, and the rulers among the people, and all the people of the land, and brings down the king from the house of YHWH, and they come in through the high gate to the house of the king, and cause the king to sit on the throne of the kingdom.

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 rejoice, and the city has been quiet, and they have put Athaliah to death by 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.