Chapter 23

Athaliah Opposed. ¹ In the seventh year Jehoiada bolstered his courage and entered into a covenant with regimental commanders: Azariah, son of Jehoram; Ishmael, son of Jehohanan; Azariah, son of Obed; Maaseiah, son of Adaiah; and Elishaphat, son of Zichri. ² They went throughout Judah, gathering the Levites from all the cities of Judah as well as the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³ Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them: “Here is the king’s son! He will reign as king, as the Lord promised concerning the sons of David. ⁴ This is what you must do: one-third of you, priests and Levites, who come on duty on the Sabbath, are to guard the gates. ⁵ Another third are to be assigned to the king’s palace, and the final third are to be stationed at the Foundation Gate, while all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ Allow no one to enter the house of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who are on duty. They may enter because they are holy, but all the other people must continue to observe the instructions of the Lord. ⁷ The Levites shall station themselves by surrounding the king on all sides, each one with his weapon drawn, and anyone who tries to enter the temple is to be put to death. They must remain with the king wherever he goes.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did everything that the priest Jehoiada had commanded. Each one brought his own men, both those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who were scheduled to go off duty, since Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of the divisions. ⁹ Then the priest handed over to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that belonged to King David and that were stored in the house of God.

¹⁰ After that, Jehoiada the priest stationed all the people, each one with a weapon in his hand, from the south side to the north side of the temple and around the altar, while forming a circle around the king. ¹¹ Then they brought forth the king’s son, placed the crown on his head, presented him with the covenant, and proclaimed him king. When Jehoiada and his sons had anointed him, they shouted: “Long live the king!”

¹² When Athaliah heard the shouts of the people as they ran forth to proclaim him as king, she went into the house of the Lord where the people had assembled. ¹³ As she looked on, she beheld the king standing by his pillar^[a] at the entrance, with the officers and the trumpeters at the king’s side, and with the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with their musical instruments were leading the celebrations. Thereupon Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out: “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴ Immediately Jehoiada the priest gave the following orders to the captains who were in command of the troops: “Take her outside between the ranks. If anyone tries to follow her, put him to death by the sword!” Then the priest made it clear: “Do not put her to death in the temple of the Lord.” ¹⁵ After that they seized her and brought her to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the palace, and there they put her to death.

¹⁶ After that, Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ Then all the people went to the temple of Baal and demolished it. They smashed its altars and its images, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. ¹⁸ Jehoiada entrusted the supervision of the temple of the Lord to the Levitical priests whom David had designated to present burnt offerings to the Lord, as prescribed in the law of Moses, with singing and rejoicing as David had ordained. ¹⁹ He also stationed guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple to ensure that no one should enter who was in any way unclean.

²⁰ Then Jehoiada took with him the captains of units of a hundred, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land and escorted the king down from the house of the Lord. Entering the palace through the Upper Gate, they seated the king on the royal throne. ²¹ All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet and serene after Athaliah had been put to death by the sword.