2 Chronicles 23

1 And 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.

After Joash had been hidden in the temple for six years, Jehoiada the priest decided that it was necessary to do something. So he made an agreement with the army commanders of groups of 100 soldiers: 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 Zicri.

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

They went throughout Judah and gathered the descendants of Levi and the leaders of Israeli families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem,

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

the whole group went to the temple and made an agreement with the young king there. Jehoiada said to them, “This is the son of the previous king of Judah. So he is the one who must rule, like Yahweh promised that the descendants of King David must do.

4 This 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 doors;

“So this is what you must do: One-third of you priests and other descendants of Levi who are starting their work on the Sabbath day must guard the doors [of the temple].

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 the LORD.

One-third of you must guard the king’s palace, and one-third of you must guard the Foundation Gate. All the other people will be in the courtyards outside the temple.

6 But let none come into the house of the LORD, 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 watch of the LORD.

Only the priests and the descendants of Levi who work there will enter the temple. They will be allowed to enter the temple because they are set apart [for that work]. All the others must remain in the courtyards, obeying what Yahweh has commanded.

7 And 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.

You descendants of Levi must stand around the young king, each of you with your weapon in your hand. Anyone else who tries to enter the temple you must kill. And stay close to the young king, wherever he goes.”

8 So 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.

So the descendants of Levi and all [the men of] Judah did what Jehoiada had told them. He did not allow anyone to go home after having finished his work on that Sabbath day. Each commander took charge of his men, the ones who were finishing their work on that day and those who were starting their work on that day.

9 And 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.

Then Jehoiada gave each of the commanders the spears and the large and small shields that had been put there in the temple by King David.

10 And 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.

He commanded all the guards to stand in their positions, each with his sword in his hand, all around the king—around the altar and the temple, from the north side to the south side.

11 Then 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, God save the king.

Then Jehoiada and his sons brought Joash out. They put a crown on his head and gave him [a scroll] on which were written the rules [that the kings needed to obey], and proclaimed that he was now the king. They anointed him with olive oil and shouted, “We hope that the king will live for many years!”

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

When Athaliah heard the noise being made by the people running [toward the king] and cheering, she ran to the temple.

13 and 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 with trumpets; the singers also [played] on instruments of music, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, treason.

She saw the young king there, standing alongside the pillar at the entrance of the temple, [which is the place at the temple] where the kings usually stood. The army commanders and trumpet players were standing beside the king, and all the people of Judah were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers with their musical instruments were leading the people while they praised God. Then Athaliah tore her robes and started screaming, “You are committing treason!”

14 And 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 the LORD.

Jehoiada the Supreme Priest said to the army commanders, “Kill her, but do not kill her at the temple of Yahweh!” Then he said to them, “Bring Athaliah out in front of the troops and kill anyone who tries to follow her!”

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

[She tried to flee, but] they seized her as she reached the gate where horses enter the palace area, and they killed her there.

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

Then Jehoiada made an agreement that he and the king and all the other people would be Yahweh’s people.

17 And 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.

Then all the people who were there went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars [of Baal]. They also killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of those altars.

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

Then Jehoiada appointed the priests, who were also descended from Levi, to work at the temple. They were part of the group to whom King David had given various jobs at the temple, to sacrifice the animals that were to be completely burned on the altar, doing what was written in the laws that Moses had given to them. He also told them to rejoice and sing, which was also what David had commanded.

19 And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.

He also put guards at the gates of the temple in order that anyone who was unacceptable to God would not be allowed to enter.

20 And 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 the LORD: and they came through the upper gate unto the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

Jehoiada took with him the army commanders, the important men, the leaders and many others, and brought the king down from the temple. They went into the palace through the Upper Gate, and put the king on his throne.

21 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword.

Then all the people of Judah rejoiced. And there was calm throughout the city, because Athaliah had been killed.