Joash Crowned King of Judah
1 Inthe seventh yearJehoiada strengthened himself,andmadeacovenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son ofObed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri.
2 And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and thechief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as theLordhassaid of the sons of David.
4 Thisiswhat you shall do: One-third of youentering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites,shallbekeeping watch over the doors;
5 one-thirdshallbeat the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the peopleshallbein the courts of the house of theLord.
6 But let no one come into the house of theLordexcept the priests andthose of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for theyareholy; but all the people shall keep the watch of theLord.
7 And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. 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 that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were goingoffdutyon the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissedthe divisions.
9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and smallshields whichhadbelongedto King David, thatwerein the temple of God.
10 Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king.
11 And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him,gavehimthe Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Longlive the king!”
Death of Athaliah
12 Now whenAthaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the peopleinthe temple of theLord.
13 Whenshe looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeterswereby the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, andthose who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said,“Treason! Treason!”
14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of theLord.”
15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entranceof the Horse Gateintothe king’s house, and they killed her there.
16 Then Jehoiada made acovenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be theLord’s people.
17 And all the people went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, andkilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
18 Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of theLordto the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David hadassigned in the house of theLord, to offer the burnt offerings of theLord, asitiswritten in theLaw of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing,asitwasestablishedby David.
19 And he set thegatekeepers at the gates of the house of theLord, so that no onewhowasin any way unclean should enter.
20 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of theLord; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom.
21 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.