2 Chronicles 23
Lexham English Bible
Joash Is Made King
23 And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took with him into a covenant relationship the commanders of hundreds: 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 around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the families[a] of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 And all the assembly made[b] a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the son of the king shall reign as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David. 4 This is the thing that you must do: one third of you priests and Levites coming off duty on the Sabbath[c] shall be gatekeepers at the entrances, 5 and one third at the house of the king, and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people shall be in the courtyards of the house of Yahweh. 6 Let no one enter into the house of Yahweh except the priests and the ministering Levites. They themselves may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the requirements of Yahweh. 7 And the Levites shall surround the king all around, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever comes into the house shall be put to death. You shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”
8 And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they each took his men who were coming off duty on the Sabbath[d] with the ones going out to duty on the Sabbath,[e] for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the working groups. 9 And Jehoiada the priest gave the spears and small shields that had belonged to King David that were in the house of God to the commanders of hundreds. 10 And he appointed all the people, each with his weapon in his hand from the south side of the house to the north side of the house around the altar and the house. 11 Then they brought out the son of the king and set upon him the crown and gave him the statute and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”[f]
12 When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people at the house of Yahweh. 13 And she looked and, behold, the king was standing by his column at the entrance, and the commanders and trumpeters beside the king, along with all the people of the land, rejoicing and blowing with trumpets, and the singers with the instruments of song leading the praise. And Athaliah tore her garments and cried, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!” 14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds appointed over the troops, and he said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever goes after her shall be put to death with the sword.” For the priest had said, “You must not kill her in the house of Yahweh.” 15 And they laid hands on her, and she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the house of the king, and they killed her there.
16 And Jehoiada made[g] a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be Yahweh’s people. 17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down. And they smashed his altars and his images, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 And Jehoiada placed appointees at the house of Yahweh under the hand of the Levitical priests whom David had allotted to the house of Yahweh to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh as was written in the law of Moses, with joy and with song, according to the order of David.[h] 19 And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of Yahweh so that no person unclean with respect to any matter could enter. 20 And he took the commanders of hundreds, the noblemen, the governors over the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of Yahweh. And they came through the upper gate to the house of the king, and they set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. 21 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 23:2 Literally “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 23:3 Literally “cut”
- 2 Chronicles 23:4 Literally “coming the Sabbath”
- 2 Chronicles 23:8 Literally “coming the Sabbath”
- 2 Chronicles 23:8 Literally “going out the Sabbath”
- 2 Chronicles 23:11 Or “May the king live!”
- 2 Chronicles 23:16 Literally “cut”
- 2 Chronicles 23:18 Literally “hands of David”
2 Chronicles 23
Common English Bible
23 But in the seventh year Jehoiada boldly formed a conspiracy with the following unit commanders: Jeroham’s son Azariah, Jehohanan’s son Ishmael, Obed’s son Azariah, Adaiah’s son Maaseiah, and Zichri’s son Elishaphat. 2 They went throughout Judah recruiting the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the family heads of Israel, who then came to Jerusalem. 3 The entire assembly made a covenant with the king in God’s temple. Jehoiada said, “Look! Here is the king’s son. He must be king, just as the Lord promised about David’s descendants. 4 This is what you must do: A third of you priests and Levites coming on sabbath duty will guard the gates, 5 another third will be at the royal palace, and another third will be at the Foundation Gate. Meanwhile, all the people will be in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple. 6 Don’t enter the Lord’s temple, because only the priests or Levites on duty can do that. They are allowed to enter because they are holy, but the rest of the people must follow the Lord’s requirements. 7 The Levites must surround the king, each with his weapons drawn. Whoever comes near your ranks must be killed; stay near the king wherever he goes.”
8 The Levites and all Judah did everything that the priest Jehoiada ordered. They each took charge of those men reporting for duty on the Sabbath, as well as those going off duty, since Jehoiada hadn’t released any divisions from duty. 9 Then the priest Jehoiada gave the unit commanders King David’s spears and large and small shields that were kept in God’s temple. 10 He positioned all the people, each with their weapons drawn, near the altar and the temple, stretching from the south side of the temple to the north side, so as to protect the king. 11 Then they brought out the king’s son, crowned him, gave him the royal law,[a] and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him as everyone cried out, “Long live the king!”
12 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the people running and cheering the king, she went to the people at the Lord’s temple 13 and saw the king standing by the royal pillar at the entrance, with the commanders and trumpeters beside the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers accompanied by musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah ripped her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”
14 Then the priest Jehoiada brought out the unit commanders who were in charge of the army. “Take her out under guard,”[b] he told them, “and kill anyone who follows her.” This was because the priest had said, “She must not be executed in the Lord’s temple.” 15 They arrested her when she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate at the royal palace. She was executed there.
16 Jehoiada then made a covenant between himself, all the people, and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people. 17 Then all the people went to Baal’s temple and tore it down, smashing its altars and images into pieces. They executed Baal’s priest Mattan in front of the altars. 18 Jehoiada appointed the priests and[c] Levites in charge of the Lord’s temple, and then appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites[d] that David had assigned to the Lord’s temple to offer entirely burned sacrifices to the Lord, as written in the Instruction from Moses, with rejoicing and singing, just as David had ordered. 19 He posted guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple so that no one who was unclean in any way could enter. 20 Then he took the unit commanders, the officials, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and they led the king down from the Lord’s temple, processing through the Upper Gate to the palace, where the king sat upon the royal throne. 21 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at peace now that Athaliah had been executed at the palace.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 23:11 Or testimony; MT lacks royal.
- 2 Chronicles 23:14 Heb uncertain
- 2 Chronicles 23:18 LXX; MT levitical priests
- 2 Chronicles 23:18 LXX; MT lacks and then appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites.
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