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17 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord.[a] 18 All the people of the land went and demolished[b] the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols[c] to bits.[d] They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest[e] then placed guards at the Lord’s temple. 19 He took the officers of the units of hundreds, the Carians, the royal bodyguard, and all the people of the land, and together they led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Gate of the Royal Bodyguard,[f] and the king[g] sat down on the royal throne. 20 All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah with the sword in the royal palace.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 11:17 tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and [between] the king and [between] the people, to become a people for the Lord, and between the king and [between] the people.” The final words of the verse (“and between the king and [between] the people”) are probably accidentally repeated from earlier in the verse. They do not appear in the parallel account in 2 Chr 23:16. If retained, they probably point to an agreement governing how the king and people should relate to one another.
  2. 2 Kings 11:18 tn Or “tore down.”
  3. 2 Kings 11:18 tn Or “images.”
  4. 2 Kings 11:18 tn The Hebrew construction translated “smashed…to bits” is emphatic. The adverbial infinitive absolute (הֵיטֵב [hetev], “well”) accompanying the Piel form of the verb שָׁבַר (shavar), “break,” suggests thorough demolition.
  5. 2 Kings 11:18 tn Heb “the priest.” Jehoiada’s name is added for clarification.
  6. 2 Kings 11:19 tn Heb “the Gate of the Runners of the House of the King.”
  7. 2 Kings 11:19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

17 Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that the people would belong to the Lord. The king and the people also made a covenant. 18 Then all the people of the land went to Baal’s temple and tore it down, smashing its altars and images into pieces. They executed Mattan, Baal’s priest, in front of the altars. The priest Jehoiada posted guards at the Lord’s temple. 19 Then he took the unit commanders, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they led the king down from the Lord’s temple, processing through the Guards’ Gate to the palace, where the king sat upon the royal throne. 20 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at peace now that Athaliah had been executed at the palace.

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