²⁶ Ahaziah was ^(A)twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.

¹¹ Then he ^[a]set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God ^(A)wept.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah^(A)

22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made ^(B)Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the ^(C)Arabians into the camp had killed all the ^(D)older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. ² Ahaziah was ^[a]forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(E)Athaliah the ^[b]granddaughter of Omri. ³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. ⁴ Therefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵ He also followed their advice, and went with ^[c]Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. ^6 (F)Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And ^[d]Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

⁷ His going to Joram ^(G)was God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s ^[e]downfall; for when he arrived, ^(H)he went out with ^[f]Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, ^(I)whom the Lord had anointed to ^[g]cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸ And it happened, when Jehu was ^(J)executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and ^(K)found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. ^9 (L)Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of ^(M)Jehoshaphat, who ^(N)sought the Lord with all his heart.”

So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah^(O)

^10 (P)Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But ^[h]Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took ^(Q)Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. ¹² And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

¹³ When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and ^(A)those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, ^(B)“Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴ And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the Lord.”

¹⁵ So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance ^(C)of the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made a ^(D)covenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ And all the people went to the ^[a]temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and ^(E)killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸ Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the Lord to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had ^(F)assigned in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the ^(G)Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. ¹⁹ And he set the ^(H)gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.

^20 (I)Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. ²¹ So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

⁷ For ^(A)the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the ^(B)dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.