Jehoiada Sets Joash on the Throne of Judah

23 ^(A)Now in the seventh year, Jehoiada gathered his courage, and took captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they entered into a covenant with him. ² And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers’ households of ^(B)Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³ Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And ^[a]Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, ^(C)as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David. ⁴ This is the thing which you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites ^(D)who come in on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers, ⁵ and a third shall be at the king’s house, and a third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courtyards of the house of the Lord. ⁶ But no one is to enter the house of the Lord except the priests and ^(E)the ministering Levites; they may enter, for they are holy. And all the people are to keep the command of the Lord. ⁷ The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house is to be put to death. Therefore be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of ^(F)the divisions. ⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and the shields and quivers which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰ He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right ^[b]side of the house to the left ^[c]side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. ¹¹ Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him, and gave him ^(G)the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “^(H)Long live the king!”

Athaliah Murdered

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹³ She looked, and behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the ^[d]trumpeters were beside the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets, the singers with their musical instruments ^[e]leading the praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!” ¹⁴ And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army, and said to them, “Bring her out ^[f]between the ranks, and whoever follows her is to be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “You shall not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they ^[g]seized her, and when she arrived at the entrance of ^(I)the Horse Gate of the king’s house, they ^(J)put her to death there.

Reforms Carried Out

¹⁶ Then ^(K)Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they broke in pieces his altars and his images, and ^(L)killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸ Moreover, Jehoiada placed the offices of the house of the Lord under the ^[h]authority of ^(M)the Levitical priests, ^(N)whom David had assigned over the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the Law of Moses—^(O)with rejoicing and singing according to the ^[i]order of David. ¹⁹ He stationed ^(P)the gatekeepers of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean. ^20 (Q)He took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and went through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they seated the king upon the royal throne. ²¹ So ^(R)all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city was at rest. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.

Young Joash Influenced by Jehoiada

24 ^(A)Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah from Beersheba. ^2 (B)Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Faithless Priests

⁴ Now it came about after this that Joash ^[a]decided ^(C)to restore the house of the Lord. ⁵ He gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all ^(D)Israel to ^[b]repair the house of your God annually, and you shall ^[c]do the work quickly.” But the Levites did not act quickly. ⁶ So the king summoned Jehoiada, the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem ^(E)the ^[d]contribution of Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the congregation of Israel, ^(F)for the tent of the testimony?” ⁷ For ^(G)the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God, and even ^[e]used the holy things of the house of the Lord for the Baals.

Temple Repaired

⁸ So the king commanded, and ^(H)they made a chest and set it outside by the gate of the house of the Lord. ^9 (I)And they made a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord ^(J)the ^[f]contribution commanded by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the officers and all the people rejoiced, and they brought in their contribution and ^[g]dropped it into the chest until they had finished. ¹¹ It happened that whenever the chest was brought to the king’s officer by the Levites, and ^(K)they saw that the money was substantial, the king’s scribe and the chief priest’s officer would come and empty the chest, and pick it up and return it to its place. They did this daily and collected a large amount of money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. ¹³ So the workmen labored, and the repair work progressed in their hands, and they ^[h]restored the house of God according to its ^[i]specifications and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for the service and the burnt offerings, and pans and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ Now Jehoiada ^[j]reached a good old age and he died; he was 130 years old at his death. ¹⁶ And they buried him ^(L)in the city of David with the kings, because he had done well in ^(M)Israel and ^[k]for God and His house.

¹⁷ But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. ¹⁸ And they abandoned ^(N)the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and ^(O)served the ^[l]Asherim and the idols; so ^(P)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. ¹⁹ Yet ^(Q)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada

^20 (R)Then the Spirit of God ^[m]covered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest like clothing; and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said, ‘^(S)Why do you break the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? ^(T)Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has also abandoned you.’” ²¹ So ^(U)they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him ^[n]to death in the courtyard of the house of the Lord. ²² So Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as Zechariah died he said, “May ^(V)the Lord see and ^[o]avenge!”

Aram Invades and Defeats Judah

²³ Now it happened at the turn of the year that ^(W)the army of the Arameans came up against Joash; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Indeed, the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet ^(X)the Lord handed a very great army over to them, ^(Y)because ^[p]Judah and Joash had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.

^25 (Z)When they left him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the ^[q]son of Jehoiada the priest, and they murdered him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ Now these are the men who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. ²⁷ As to his sons and the many pronouncements against him and ^(AA)the ^[r]rebuilding of the house of God, behold, they are written in the ^[s](AB)treatise of the Book of the Kings. Then his son Amaziah became king in his place.

Uzziah Succeeds Amaziah in Judah

26 Now all the people of Judah took ^[a]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king ^[b]lay down with his fathers. ³ Uzziah was ^(A)sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^[c]Jechiliah of Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father Amaziah had done. ^5 (B)He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, ^(C)who had understanding ^[d]through the vision of God; and ^[e](D)as long as he sought the Lord, God made him successful.

Uzziah Succeeds in War

⁶ Now he went out and ^(E)fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the Philistines. ^7 (F)God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites gave ^(G)tribute to Uzziah, and his ^[f]fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. ⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at ^(H)the Corner Gate, the ^(I)Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress, and he fortified them. ¹⁰ He also built towers in the wilderness and ^(J)carved out many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the ^[g]lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil. ¹¹ Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which ^[h]entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, ^[i]recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officers. ¹² The total number of the heads of the ^[j]households, of valiant warriors, was 2,600. ¹³ Under their direction was an army of ^(K)307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Moreover, Uzziah prepared ^[k]for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slingstones. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he made machines of war invented by skillful workmen to be on the towers and the corners, for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. So his ^[l]fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.

Pride Is Uzziah’s Undoing

¹⁶ But ^(L)when he became strong, his heart was so ^[m]proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for ^(M)he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Then ^(N)Azariah the priest entered after him, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. ^18 (O)They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “^(P)It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, ^(Q)but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been untrue and will have no honor from the Lord God.” ¹⁹ But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, ^(R)leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. ²⁰ Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they quickly removed him from there, and he himself also hurried to get out because the Lord had stricken him. ^21 (S)King Uzziah had leprosy to the day of his death; and he lived in ^(T)a separate house, afflicted as he was with leprosy, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. And his son Jotham was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, the first to the last, the prophet ^(U)Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written. ²³ So Uzziah ^[n]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers ^(V)in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He had leprosy.” And his son Jotham became king in his place.