Beginning

21 So Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, and Jehoram his son ruled in his place. ² And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. ³ And their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and excellent items, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

Jehoram, King of Judah^(A)

⁴ Then Jehoram rose up over the kingdom of his father and he became strong. And he killed all his brothers with the sword and even some of the officials in Israel. ⁵ Now Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began as king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel as those from the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was the wife of Jehoram. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. ⁷ But the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant that He made with David, and because He said that He would give a lamp to David and his sons for all days.

⁸ In the days of Jehoram, Edom revolted from being under the hand of Judah, and they set a king for themselves. ⁹ So Jehoram passed over to the Edomite territory with his commanders and all his chariots, and it happened that he rose up at night and struck the Edomites, who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. ¹⁰ So Edom revolted from being under the hand of Judah until this day.

At that time Libnah also revolted from being under their rule, because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord God of his fathers. ¹¹ He even made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused those in Jerusalem to be like prostitutes, and he led Judah astray.

¹² And a letter 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, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, ¹³ but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom, as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s house, who were better than you, ¹⁴ the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions; ¹⁵ and you will have great sickness with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out because of the disease, day by day.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord stirred up the spirit of the Philistines against Jehoram and also the Arabians who were near the Cushites. ¹⁷ And they went up against Judah and broke through, and they took every possession found in the palace of the king, even his sons and wives, so that no son was left with him except his youngest Ahaziah.

The Death of Jehoram

¹⁸ And after all this, the Lord struck him in his entrails with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ And it happened after many days, at the end of two years, his entrails came out due to his disease, so he died by a despicable disease. And his people did not make for him a memorial fire like the fire for his fathers.

²⁰ He was thirty-two when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah, King of Judah^(B)

22 Then those in Jerusalem made Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram, king in his place because the raiding party, those coming with the Arabians to the camp, killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram reigned in Jerusalem.

² Now Ahaziah was forty-two years^[a] old when he began to reign, but he only reigned one year in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

³ And he also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab because his mother was the one counseling him to do evil. ⁴ And he also did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, like the house of Ahab, for they served as his counselors after his father Jehoram died, which led to his destruction. ⁵ Even Ahaziah walked in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram, ⁶ and the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds that he sustained in Ramah where he fought against Hazael king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was wounded.

⁷ And it was from God that a downfall would happen to Ahaziah in regard to his visit with Joram. And when he arrived he went out with Joram to see Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸ And it happened that when Jehu was acting in judgment with the house of Ahab that he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, who were serving Ahaziah, and Jehu killed them. ⁹ He sought out Ahaziah, and they captured him while he hid in Samaria, and they brought him to Jehu, and they put him to death. And they buried him because they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And there was no one from the house of Ahaziah strong enough to retain the kingdom.

Athaliah Seizes the Throne^(C)

¹⁰ So when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose up and mounted a campaign to destroy all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehoshabeath,^[b] the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from the king’s sons who were going to be put to death, and she placed him and his nurse in a bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest (since she was a sister of Ahaziah), hid Joash from Athaliah. And she did not put the royal child to death. ¹² And he was hidden away with them in the house of God for six years. And Athaliah ruled over the land.

Joash, King of Judah

23 Then in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders over 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 Zikri. ² And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and even the heads of the fathers’ houses in Israel. Then they all came to Jerusalem.

³ So the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God, and Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son will reign, as the Lord has said of the sons of David. ⁴ And this is the thing that you all will do: A third of you all from the priests and Levites who come on the Sabbath will be gatekeepers, ⁵ one-third will be at the palace of the king and another third at the Foundation Gate. And all the people will be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ And may no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and those Levites who are serving. Those can enter because they are holy, but all the people will keep their assigned duty of the Lord. ⁷ Then the Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapon in his hand, and whoever enters the house will be put to death. They will be with the king when he enters and leaves.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each brought his men, who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, because Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions. ⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰ Then he set all the people around the king, each man with his weapon in hand, from the south side to the north side of the temple, from the altar to the temple.

¹¹ Then they brought out the son of the king and set on him the crown and the testimony and they proclaimed him as king. So Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”

The Death of Athaliah

¹² And when Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she went toward the people in the temple of the Lord. ¹³ And she saw the king standing by the pillar at the entrance with the officials and trumpeters next to the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers with their instruments with songs were offering up praise. Then Athaliah tore her garments and yelled, “Treachery! Treachery!”

¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders over hundreds, those entrusted over the army, and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and let whoever follows her be killed with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they seized her, and she went to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s palace, and they put her to death there.

¹⁶ And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the people, and the king that they would be a people dedicated to the Lord. ¹⁷ Then all the people went to the temple of Baal, and they tore it down along with its altars, and they shattered its images. And Mattan the priest of Baal, they killed before the altars.

¹⁸ Then Jehoiada placed guards at the house of the Lord, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites whom David allotted for the house of the Lord to make burnt offerings to the Lord as is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and music, according to the direction of David. ¹⁹ And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one might enter who was in any manner unclean.

²⁰ Then he took the commanders over hundreds, the nobles, those in authority over the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord. And they went through the Upper Gate of the palace of the king, and they brought the king to sit on the royal throne. ²¹ And all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city had peace when they put Athaliah to death with the sword.

Joash Repairs the Temple^(D)

24 Now Joash^[c] was seven years old when he started his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for forty years. The name of his mother was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² Joash did what was correct in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³ And Jehoiada gave Joash two wives, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴ And it happened after this that it was in the heart of Joash to restore the house of the Lord. ⁵ So he assembled the priests and Levites to speak with them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel to fortify the house of your God, what is necessary each year. Now hurry with this matter.” But the Levites delayed.

⁶ So the king called Jehoiada, who was head over this, and said to him, “Why have you not required from the Levites that they bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the Lord, for the congregation of Israel for the tent of the testimony?”

⁷ For the sons of Athaliah, the wicked woman, had broken into the house of God and even used all the holy items of the house of the Lord for Baal worship.

⁸ Then the king spoke, and they made a chest, and put it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. ⁹ And they gave a report in Judah and Jerusalem to bring in to the Lord a tax levied by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ So all the officials and people rejoiced, and they brought in the money and cast it into the chest until it was full. ¹¹ And it happened that at the time the Levites brought the chest to the guards of the king that there was a large amount of money. So the king’s scribe and head priest’s commissioner would bring it and empty the chest and then take it and return it to its place. They continued to do this every day and collected a great amount of money. ¹² So the king and Jehoiada gave it to those doing a work of labor on the house of the Lord. And they hired masons and craftsmen to repair the house of the Lord, and even metal workers in iron and bronze to fortify the house of the Lord.

¹³ So the workmen worked, and the work was completed by them. They restored the house of God to its specifications and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, who made vessels for the house of the Lord, vessels for serving and for making burnt offerings, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. They continually offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ Then Jehoiada became old and full of days and died. He was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. ¹⁶ So they buried him in the City of David with the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

The Wickedness of Joash

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king. At that time the king listened to them. ¹⁸ Then they abandoned the house of the Lord and God of their fathers, and they served the Asherah poles and idols. And divine wrath was on Judah and Jerusalem because of this guilt. ¹⁹ And God sent prophets to return them to the Lord. These warned the people, but they would not listen.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people saying, “Thus says God: Why are you transgressing the commandments of the Lord so that you all will not be successful? Because you all have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned you.”

²¹ But they plotted against him, and at the command of the king they all stoned him in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² And Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada the father of Zechariah had shown him, but killed his son. As he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!”

The Death of Joash

²³ And it happened that at the turn of the year the army of Aram came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the officials of the people, and they sent all their plunder to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Though the Aramean army came with a few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great Judean army because they abandoned the Lord God of their fathers. So they enacted judgment on Joash. ²⁵ When they left him (for they abandoned him with severe wounds) his own servants plotted against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed 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 And those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonite and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabite. ²⁷ Accounts of his sons and of the many oracles against him and of the rebuilding of the house of God are written in the annals of the kings. And Amaziah his son ruled in his place.