Beginning

21 Then Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Jehoram, his son, reigned in his place.

² And he had brethren (the sons of Jehoshaphat): Azariah and Jehiel and Zechariah and Azariah and Michael and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.

³ And their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with strong cities in Judah. But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram; for he was the eldest.

⁴ And Jehoram rose up over the kingdom of his father and made himself strong and killed all his brethren with the sword, and also some of the other princes of Israel.

⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

⁶ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the House of Ahab had done. For he took the daughter of Ahab as a wife. And he wrought evil in the Eyes of the LORD.

⁷ However, the LORD would not destroy the House of David, because of the Covenant that He had made with David, and because He had promised to give a light to him and to his sons forever.

⁸ In his days, Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves.

⁹ And Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him. And he rose up by night and struck Edom (which had surrounded him) and the captains of the chariots.

¹⁰ So, Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then at the same time, Libnah rebelled from under his hand, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.

¹¹ Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah.

¹² And a writing came to him from Elijah the Prophet, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of David your father: ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat, your father, nor in the ways of Asa, king of Judah,

¹³ ‘but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, as the House of Ahab went a whoring, and have also killed your brethren of your father’s house (who were better than you),

¹⁴ ‘behold, the LORD will strike your people and your children and your wives and all your substance with a great plague. 15’And you shall be in great diseases in the disease of your bowels, until your bowels fall out because of the disease, day by day.’”

¹⁶ So the LORD stirred up the spirit of the Philistines against Jehoram, and the Arabians (who were next to the Ethiopians).

¹⁷ And they came up into Judah and broke into it and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also his sons, and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

¹⁸ And after all this, the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.

¹⁹ And in process of time, after the end of two years, his guts fell out with his disease. So, he died of grave diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers.

²⁰ When he began to reign, he was thirty-two years old. And he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years and lived without being desired. Still, they buried him in the City of David, but not among the sepulchers of the kings.

22 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place. For the army that came with the Arabians to the camp had killed all the eldest. Therefore, Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned.

² Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.

³ He also walked in the ways of the House of Ahab. For his mother counseled him to do wickedly.

⁴ Therefore, he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the House of Ahab. For they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

⁵ And he walked after their counsel and went with Jehoram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead. And the Aramites struck Joram.

⁶ And he returned to be healed in Jezreel, because of the wounds with which they had wounded him at Ramah when he fought with Hazael, king of Aram. Now Azariah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram, the son of Ahab, at Jezreel, because he was diseased.

⁷ And the destruction of Ahaziah came from God, in that he went to Joram. For when he had come, he went forth with Jehoram against Jehu, the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the House of Ahab.

⁸ Therefore, when Jehu executed judgment upon the House of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah that waited on Ahaziah, he killed them also.

⁹ And he sought Ahaziah. And they caught him where he was hidden in Samaria and brought him to Jehu and killed him and buried him, “Because,” they said, “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So, the House of Ahaziah was not able to retain the kingdom.

¹⁰ Therefore, when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the king’s seed of the House of Judah.

¹¹ But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were to be killed and put him and his nurse in the bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the Priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah) hid him from Athaliah. So, she did not kill him.

¹² And he was hidden with them in the House of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

23 And in the seventh year, Jehoiada grew bold and took the captains of hundreds—Azariah the son of Jeroham and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan and Azariah the son of Obed and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah and Elishaphat the son of Zichri—into covenant with him.

² And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel. And they came to Jerusalem.

³ And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the House of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son must reign, as the LORD has said of the sons of David.

⁴ “This is what you shall do. One third of you who come on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be gatekeepers of the doors.

⁵ “And one third shall be at the king’s house, and one third at the gate of the foundation. And all the people shall be in the courts of the House of the LORD.

⁶ “But let no one come into the House of the LORD except the priests and the Levites who minister. They shall go in, for they are holy. But all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.

⁷ “And the Levites shall surround the king, all around, every man with his weapon in his hand. And whoever enters into the House shall be killed. And you are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸ So, the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the Priest had commanded. And every man took his men who came in on the Sabbath along with those who went out on the Sabbath. For Jehoiada the Priest did not discharge the divisions.

⁹ And Jehoiada the Priest delivered spears to the captains of hundreds, and shields, and bucklers, which had been King David’s and were in the House of God.

¹⁰ And he had all the people stand (every man with his weapon in his hand) from the right side of the House to the left side of the House, by the Altar and by the House, all around the king.

¹¹ Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown upon him and gave him the Testimony and made him King. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “God save the king.”

¹² But when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people, into the House of the LORD.

¹³ And when she looked, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance. And the princes and the trumpets were by the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew the trumpets. And the singers were with instruments of music, and those who could sing praise. Then, Athaliah tore her clothes, and said, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the Priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were governors of the army, and said to them, “Take her forth between the ranks! And let whoever follows her die by the sword!” For the Priest had said, “Do not kill her in the House of the LORD.”

¹⁵ So they laid hands on her. And when she had come to the entrance of the horse gate, by the king’s house, they killed her there.

¹⁶ And 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 destroyed and broke his altars and his images and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.

¹⁸ And Jehoiada appointed officers for the House of the LORD, under the hands of the priests and Levites, whom David had distributed for the House of the LORD, to offer Burnt Offerings to the LORD, as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, by the appointment of David.

¹⁹ And he set gatekeepers by the gates of the House of the LORD, so that no one who was unclean in anything could enter.

²⁰ And he took the captains of hundreds and the noblemen and the governors of the people and all the people of the land; and he had the king come down out of the House of the LORD. And they went through the High Gate of the king’s house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

²¹ Then, all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet after they had killed Athaliah with the sword.

24 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.

² And Joash did uprightly in the sight of the LORD, all the days of Jehoiada the Priest.

³ And Jehoiada took two wives for himself. And he begat sons and daughters.

⁴ And afterward it came into Joash’s mind to renew the House of the LORD.

⁵ And he assembled the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all Israel to repair the House of your God, from year to year. And do so quickly!” But the Levites were not quick.

⁶ Therefore, the king called Jehoiada the High Priest and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the Congregation of Israel, for the Tabernacle of the Testimony?

⁷ “For wicked Athaliah and her children broke up the House of God. And they bestowed all the things that were dedicated for the House of the LORD upon Baal!”

⁸ Therefore, the king commanded. And they made a chest and set it at the gate of the House of the LORD, outside.

⁹ And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring the tax of Moses the servant of God to the LORD, as laid upon Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought in and cast into the chest until they had finished.

¹¹ And when it was time, they brought the chest to the king’s officer by the hand of the Levites. And when they saw that there was much silver, then the king’s scribe (and one appointed by the High Priest) came and emptied the chest and took it and carried it back to its place. Thus they did, day by day, and gathered silver in abundance.

¹² And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the labor and work in the House of the LORD and hired masons and carpenters to repair the House of the LORD. They also hired workers of iron and bronze, to repair the House of the LORD.

¹³ So the workmen worked. And the work was finished through their hands. And they restored the House of God to its state and strengthened it.

¹⁴ And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the silver before the king and Jehoiada. And from it he made vessels for the House of the LORD, vessels for ministry, mortars and cups, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered Burnt Offerings in the House of the LORD continually, all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days and died. He was one hundred thirty years old when he died.

¹⁶ And they buried him with the kings, in the City of David, because he had done good in Israel and toward God and His House.

¹⁷ And after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and did reverence to the king. And the king listened to them.

¹⁸ And they left the House of the LORD God of their fathers and served groves and idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem, because of this their trespass.

¹⁹ And God sent Prophets among them, to bring them back to the LORD. And they testified against them. But they would not hear.

²⁰ And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the Priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the Commandments of the LORD? Surely you shall not prosper! Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has also forsaken you!”

²¹ Then they conspired against him and stoned him with stones, at the commandment of the king, in the court of the House of the LORD.

²² Thus, Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada, his father, had done to him, but killed his son. And when he died, he said, “The LORD look upon it and require it!”

²³ And when the year was out, the army of Aram came up against him. And they came against Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all the spoil of them to the king of Damascus.

²⁴ Though the army of Aram came with a small company of men, the LORD still delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. And they gave sentence against Joash.

²⁵ And when they had departed from him (for they left him with great disease), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the children of Jehoiada the Priest and killed him on his bed. And he died. And they buried him in the City of David. But they did not bury him in the sepulchers of the kings.

²⁶ And these are those who conspired against him: Zabad, the son of Shimrath (an Ammonitess) and Jehozabad, the son of Shimrith (a Moabitess).

²⁷ As for his sons, and the sum of the tax gathered by him, and the foundation of the House of God, behold, they are written in the story of the Book of the Kings. And Amaziah, his son, reigned in his place.