11 Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, heard the news that her son was dead. So she started to kill all the royal family. 2 Jehosheba was the daughter of King Jehoram of Judah and the sister of Ahaziah. When Athaliah's servants had come to murder the royal sons, Jehosheba took Ahaziah's son Joash away and she hid him. She put him in a bedroom in the temple to hide him from Athaliah. So Joash stayed alive. 3 Joash and his nurse stayed safely in a room in the Lord 's temple while Queen Athaliah ruled Judah for six years.
4 In the seventh year that Athaliah ruled Judah, the priest Jehoiada asked some of the king's officers to come to him. [ a ] They were officers of army groups, the king's special guards and the palace guards.
They came to meet with Jehoiada in the Lord 's temple. There, he made them promise to agree with his idea. Then he showed the king's son Joash to them.
5 Jehoiada said to the officers, ‘This is what you must do: The men who come to work on the Sabbath day must make three groups. One group will keep the palace safe. 6 Another group must stand at the Sur Gate. The third group must stand at the gate behind the special guards. 7 The two groups of soldiers who would not come to work on the Sabbath day must do this: They must be guards at the Lord 's temple. They must keep the new king safe. 8 You must stand around the king. Each man must hold his weapon in his hand. If anyone comes near to you, you must kill them. You must stay near to the king everywhere that he goes.’
9 The officers of the army groups did what Jehoiada the priest told them to do. Each officer brought his group of men to Jehoiada. That included the men who worked on the Sabbath and those who did not. 10 Then Jehoiada gave some weapons that were in the Lord 's temple to the officers. He gave them the spears and the shields that had belonged to King David. 11 The guards held their weapons in their hands. They stood around the king to keep him safe. They stood in a line from the south side of the temple to the north side. They were around the altar at the front of the temple.
12 Then Jehoiada brought the king's son out of the temple room. He put the crown onto Joash's head. He gave him a copy of the royal covenant. They poured olive oil on his head to show that he was now the king. They clapped their hands and they shouted, ‘May the king have a long life!’
13 Queen Athaliah heard the soldiers and the people as they were shouting. So she went to the Lord 's temple where all the people were. 14 Then she saw the king! He was standing in the king's place beside the pillar in the temple. [ b ] The army officers and the men with trumpets were standing beside the king. All the people of Judah were shouting with joy. Many of them made music with trumpets.
When Athaliah saw this, she was very upset. She tore her clothes. She shouted, ‘Treason! Treason!’ [ c ]
15 Jehoiada the priest gave a command to the army officers who had authority over groups of soldiers. He told them, ‘Bring her out of the temple to the line of guards outside. Use your swords to kill anyone who follows her.’ That was because Jehoiada had said, ‘You must not kill her inside the Lord 's temple.’ 16 So they took hold of Athaliah. They took her through the gate for the king's horses into the yard of the palace. They killed her there.
17 Jehoiada prepared a covenant with the Lord . All the people and the king agreed to serve the Lord as his people. The people also agreed to serve the king faithfully.
18 Then people everywhere in the country went to the temple of Baal. They destroyed it. They completely knocked down its altars and idols. They killed Baal's priest, Mattan, in front of Baal's altars.
Then Jehoiada the priest put guards to keep the Lord 's temple safe. 19 Jehoiada took with him the officers of army groups, the king's special guards, the palace guards and all the people. They went together to bring the king down from the Lord 's temple into the palace. They went into the palace through the gate of the king's royal guards. Then Joash sat on his throne as king.
20 All the people were very happy. There was no longer any trouble in Jerusalem now that Athaliah was dead. They had punished her with death at the palace.
21 And Joash was seven years old when he began to rule Judah as king.
11 Athaliah was Ahaziah’s mother. She saw that her son was dead, so she got up and killed all the king’s family.
2 Jehosheba was King Joram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister. Joash was one of the king’s sons. While the other children were being killed, Jehosheba took Joash and hid him. She put him and his nurse in her bedroom, so Jehosheba and the nurse hid Joash from Athaliah. That way Joash was not killed.
3 Then Joash and Jehosheba hid in the Lord ’s Temple. Joash hid there for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled over the land of Judah.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada the high priest sent for the captains of the Carites [ a ] and guards. [ b ] He brought them together in the Lord ’s Temple and made an agreement with them. There in the Temple of the Lord he forced them to make a promise. Then he showed the king’s son to them.
5 Then Jehoiada gave them a command. He said, “This is what you must do. One-third of you, from those who go on duty on the Sabbath day, must stand guard at the royal palace. 6 Another third will be at the Sur Gate, and the other third will be at the gate behind the guard. This way you will stand guard over the palace on all sides. 7 Your two divisions who go off duty on the Sabbath day will stand guard at the Lord ’s Temple and protect King Joash. 8 You must stay with him wherever he goes. The whole group must surround the king. Each guard must have his weapon in his hand, and you must kill anyone who comes too close to you.”
9 The captains obeyed everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each captain took his men, both those who were going on duty on the Sabbath day and those who were going off duty. All these men went to Jehoiada the priest, 10 and he gave spears and shields to the captains. These were the spears and shields David put in the Lord ’s Temple. 11 These guards stood with their weapons in their hands from the right corner of the Temple to the left corner. They stood around the altar and the Temple and around the king when he went to the Temple. 12 These men brought out Joash. They put the crown on him and gave him a copy of the agreement. [ c ] Then they anointed him and made him the new king. They clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13 Queen Athaliah heard the noise from the guards and the people, so she went to them at the Lord ’s Temple. 14 Athaliah saw the king by the column where new kings usually stood. She also saw the leaders and men playing the trumpets for him. She saw that all the people were very happy. She heard the trumpets, and she tore her clothes to show she was upset. Then Athaliah shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
15 Jehoiada the priest gave a command to the captains who were in charge of the soldiers. Jehoiada told them, “Take Athaliah outside of the Temple area. Kill any of her followers, but don’t kill them in the Lord ’s Temple.”
16 So the soldiers grabbed Athaliah and killed her as soon as she went through the horse’s entrance to the palace.
17 Then Jehoiada made the agreement between the Lord and the king and the people. This agreement showed that the king and the people belonged to the Lord . Jehoiada also made the agreement between the king and the people.
18 Then all the people went to the temple of Baal. They destroyed the statue of Baal and his altars. They broke them into many pieces. They also killed Baal’s priest, Mattan, in front of the altars.
So Jehoiada the priest put men in charge of maintaining the Lord ’s Temple. 19 The priest led all the people. They went from the Lord ’s Temple to the king’s palace. The king’s special guards and the captains went with the king, and all the other people followed them. They went to the entrance to the king’s palace. Then King Joash sat on the throne. 20 All the people were happy, and the city was peaceful. And Queen Athaliah was killed with a sword near the king’s palace.
21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.
11 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
3 And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.
4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord , and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord , and shewed them the king's son.
5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house;
6 And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.
7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.
8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.
9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord .
11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.
12 And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.
13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord .
14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.
15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord .
16 And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.
17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord 's people; between the king also and the people.
18 And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord .
19 And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord , and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.
20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house.
21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.
11 ( A ) When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and eliminated all the royal [ a ] children. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, ( B ) took Joash the son of Ahaziah and abducted him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. 3 So he was kept hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.
4 ( C ) Now in the seventh year Jehoiada sent orders and brought the captains of hundreds of ( D ) the Carites and of the [ b ] guards, and brought them to himself at the house of the Lord . Then he made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the house of the Lord , and showed them the king’s son. 5 And he commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you shall do: ( E ) a third of you, who come in on the Sabbath and keep watch over the king’s house 6 (a third also shall be at the gate Sur, and a third at the gate behind the [ c ] guards), [ d ] shall keep watch over the house [ e ] for defense. 7 And two parts of you, all who go out on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the Lord for the king. 8 Then you shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within the ranks shall be put to death. And ( F ) you are to be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
9 So the captains of hundreds ( G ) acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the Sabbath, along with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 Then ( H ) the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord . 11 The [ f ] guards stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. 12 Then he brought the king’s son out, and ( I ) put the crown on him and gave him ( J ) the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “ ( K ) Long live the king!”
13 ( L ) When Athaliah heard the noise of the guards and of the people, she came to the people at the house of the Lord . 14 And she looked, and behold, the king was standing ( M ) by the pillar according to the custom, with the captains and the [ g ] trumpeters beside the king; and ( N ) all the people of the land were joyful and were blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah ( O ) tore her clothes and cried out, “ ( P ) Conspiracy! Conspiracy!” 15 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her, put to death with the sword!” For the priest said, “She is not to be put to death at the house of the Lord .” 16 So they [ h ] seized her, and when [ i ] they brought her to the horses’ entrance of the king’s house, she was ( Q ) put to death there.
17 Then ( R ) Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord , the king, and the people, that they would be the Lord ’ s people, and ( S ) between the king and the people. 18 And all the people of the land came to ( T ) the house of Baal and tore it down; they thoroughly smashed ( U ) his altars and his images in pieces, and they ( V ) killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. Then the priest appointed sentries over the house of the Lord . 19 And he took the captains of hundreds and the ( W ) Carites, and the [ j ] guards and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord , and came by way of ( X ) the gate of the [ k ] guards to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 So ( Y ) all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was [ l ] peaceful. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword at the king’s house.
21 [ m ] ( Z ) Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.
11 When Athaliah ( B ) the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram [ a ] and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash ( C ) son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. ( D ) 3 He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites ( E ) and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord . He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the Lord . Then he showed them the king’s son. 5 He commanded them, saying, “This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath ( F ) —a third of you guarding the royal palace, ( G ) 6 a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple— 7 and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. 8 Station yourselves around the king, each of you with weapon in hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks [ b ] is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
9 The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men—those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields ( H ) that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord . 11 The guards, each with weapon in hand, stationed themselves around the king—near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
12 Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant ( I ) and proclaimed him king. They anointed ( J ) him, and the people clapped their hands ( K ) and shouted, “Long live the king!” ( L )
13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord . 14 She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, ( M ) as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. ( N ) Then Athaliah tore ( O ) her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!” ( P )
15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: “Bring her out between the ranks [ c ] and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the temple ( Q ) of the Lord .” 16 So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter ( R ) the palace grounds, and there she was put to death. ( S )
17 Jehoiada then made a covenant ( T ) between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord ’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. ( U ) 18 All the people of the land went to the temple ( V ) of Baal and tore it down. They smashed ( W ) the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest ( X ) of Baal in front of the altars.
Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord . 19 He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, ( Y ) the guards and all the people of the land, and together they brought the king down from the temple of the Lord and went into the palace, entering by way of the gate of the guards. The king then took his place on the royal throne. 20 All the people of the land rejoiced, ( Z ) and the city was calm, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
21 Joash [ d ] was seven years old when he began to reign. [ e ]
