⁸ At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”

² Ahaziah was twenty-two^[a] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri. ³ Ahaziah also followed the evil example of King Ahab’s family, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong.

²⁴ She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”

Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah

11 When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family.

² So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”

¹³ Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water.

⁴ Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.)

⁸⁴ So this was the dedication offering brought by the leaders of Israel at the time the altar was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold incense containers. ⁸⁵ Each silver platter weighed 3 1⁄4 pounds, and each silver basin weighed 1 3⁄4 pounds. The total weight of the silver was 60 pounds^[a] (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel).