2 Chronicles 23

1 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.

Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada having been strengthened, he took the centurions, namely, Azariah, the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, and also Azariah, the son of Obed, and Maaseiah, the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri, and he formed a pact with them.

2 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,

And traveling through Judah, they gathered together the Levites from all of the cities of Judah, and the leaders of the families of Israel, and they went to Jerusalem.

3 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.

Then the entire multitude formed a pact with the king, in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them: “Behold, the son of the king shall reign, just as the Lord has said concerning the sons of David.

4 “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].

Therefore, this is the word that you shall do:

5 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.

One third part of you who arrive on the Sabbath, priests, and Levites, and porters, shall be at the gates. Truly, one third part shall be at the house of the king. And one third shall be at the gate which is called the Foundation. Yet truly, let all the remainder of the common people be in the courts of the house of the Lord.

6 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.

Let no one else enter into the house of the Lord, except the priests, and those from the Levites who are ministering. These alone may enter, for they have been sanctified. And let all the remainder of the common people observe the watches of the Lord.

7 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.”

Then let the Levites encircle the king, each one having his weapons. And if anyone else will have entered into the temple, let him be slain. And may they be with the king, both entering and departing.”

8 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.

Then the Levites, and all of Judah, acted in accord with all that the high priest Jehoiada had instructed. And each of them took the men who were under him, and who were arriving by the course of the Sabbath, with those who had fulfilled the Sabbath and who were about to depart. For indeed the high priest Jehoiada had not permitted the companies to depart, which were accustomed to replace one another each week.

9 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.

And Jehoiada, the priest, gave to the centurions the lances and round shields and crescent shields of king David, which he had dedicated in the house of the Lord.

10 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.

And he positioned all the people, holding short swords, from the right part of the temple to the left part of the temple, before the altar and the temple, all around the king.

11 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!”

And they led out the son of the king. And they imposed the diadem on him, and the testimony. And they gave him the law to hold in his hand. And they appointed him as king. Also, the high priest Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. And they prayed for him, and said, “May the king live!”

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

And when Athaliah had heard it, specifically the sound of running and the praising of the king, she entered to the people in the temple of the Lord.

13 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!”

And when she had seen the king standing upon the step at the entrance, and the leaders and companies around him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding the trumpets, and playing on instruments of various kinds, and the voice of those who were praising, she tore her garments, and she said: “Treason! Treason!”

14 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!”

Then the high priest Jehoiada, going out to the centurions and to the leaders of the army, said to them: “Lead her away, beyond the borders of the temple. And let her be put to death outside, with the sword.” And the priest instructed that she should not be killed in the house of the Lord.

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

And they laid hands on her neck. And when she had entered the gate for the horses at the king’s house, they put her to death there.

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

Then Jehoiada formed a covenant between himself and the entire people, and the king, so that they would be the people of the Lord.

17 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.

And so, all the people entered into the house of Baal, and they destroyed it. And they broke apart his altars and idols. Also, they put to death Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.

18 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.

Then Jehoiada appointed overseers in the house of the Lord, under the hands of the priests and Levites, whom David had distributed to the house of the Lord so that they might offer holocausts to the Lord, just as it was written in the law of Moses, with gladness and singing, in accord with the disposition of David.

19 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.

Also, he appointed porters at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that whoever was unclean for any reason would not enter.

20 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.

And he took the centurions, and the most valiant men, and the leaders of the people, and all the common people of the land, and they set out to descend to the king, from the house of the Lord, and to enter through the middle of the upper gate, to the house of the king. And they placed him on the royal throne.

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

And all the people of the land were rejoicing, and the city was quieted. But Athaliah was slain with the sword.