2 Chronicles 23
23
Priest Jehoiada and King Joash
1After six years, Jehoiada showed his strength and made an agreement with the captains. These captains were Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. 2They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns of Judah. They also gathered the leaders of the families of Israel. Then they went to Jerusalem. 3All the people meeting together made an agreement with the king in God’s Temple.
Jehoiada said to the people, “The king’s son will rule. That is what the Lord promised about David’s descendants. 4Now, this is what you must do: One-third of you priests and Levites who go on duty on the Sabbath will guard the doors. 5And one-third of you will be at the king’s palace, and one-third of you will be at the Foundation Gate. But all the other people will stay in the yards of the Lord’s Temple. 6Only the priests and Levites who serve in the Lord’s Temple are permitted to enter it. They are the only ones who have been made holy. Don’t let anyone else enter. All the others must do only the work the Lord has given them. 7The Levites must stay near the king. Every man must have his sword with him. If anyone tries to enter the Temple, kill that person. You must stay with the king everywhere he goes.”
8The Levites and all the people of Judah obeyed all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Jehoiada the priest did not excuse anyone from the groups of the priests. So each captain and all his men came in on the Sabbath with those who went out on the Sabbath. 9Jehoiada the priest gave the spears and the large and small shields that belonged to King David to the officers. The weapons were kept in God’s Temple. 10Then Jehoiada told the men where to stand. Every man had his weapon in his hand. The men stood all the way from the right side of the Temple to the left side of the Temple. They stood near the altar and the Temple, and near the king. 11They brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him. They gave him a copy of the agreement.#23:11 a copy of the agreement Literally, “testimony.” This could be a copy of the Law of Moses (see Deut. 17:18) or a special agreement between God and the king (see 1 Sam. 10:25; 2 Kings 11:17). Then they made Joash king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed Joash and said, “Long live the king!”
12Athaliah heard the noise of the people running to the Temple and praising the king. She came into the Lord’s Temple to the people. 13She looked and saw the king standing by his column at the front entrance. The officers and the men who blew trumpets were near the king. The people of the land were happy and blowing trumpets. The singers were playing on instruments of music. They led the people in singing praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes#23:13 tore her clothes A way to show that she was very upset. and said, “Treason! Treason!”#23:13 Treason Turning against the government. Here, Athaliah was blaming the people for turning against her government.
14Jehoiada the priest brought out the army captains. He said to them, “Take Athaliah outside among the army. Use your swords to kill anyone who follows her.” Then the priest warned the soldiers, “Don’t kill Athaliah in the Lord’s Temple.” 15Then those men grabbed Athaliah when she came to the entrance of the Horse Gate at the king’s palace. Then they killed her there.
16Then Jehoiada made an agreement with all the people and the king. They all agreed that they all would be the Lord’s people. 17All the people went into the temple of the idol Baal and tore it down. They also broke the altars and idols that were in Baal’s temple. They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars of Baal.
18Then Jehoiada chose the priests to be responsible for the Lord’s Temple. The priests were Levites, and David had given them the job of being responsible for the Lord’s Temple. They were to offer the burnt offerings to the Lord the way the Law of Moses commanded. They offered the sacrifices with much joy and singing the way David commanded. 19Jehoiada put guards at the gates of the Lord’s Temple to prevent any unclean person from entering the Temple.
20Jehoiada took the army captains, the leaders, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land with him. Then Jehoiada took the king out of the Lord’s Temple. They went through the Upper Gate to the king’s palace and put the king on the throne. 21All the people of Judah were very happy, and the city of Jerusalem had peace because Athaliah was killed with a sword.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
2 Chronicles 23
23
Joash Made King
1 # For ver. 1-21, see 2 Kgs. 11:4-20 But in the seventh year Jehoiada took courage and entered into a covenant with the commanders of 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 Zichri. 2And they went about through #See ch. 21:2Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And Jehoiada#23:3 Hebrew he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son! Let him reign, #See ch. 6:16as the Lord spoke concerning the sons of David. 4This is the thing that you shall do: #[1 Chr. 9:25; 24:4]of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the Sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers, 5and 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. 6Let no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests #See 1 Chr. 23:27-29and ministering Levites. They may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the charge of the Lord. 7The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever enters the house shall be put to death. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”
8The Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men, who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss #See 1 Chr. 24the divisions. 9And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains the spears and the large and small shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. 10And he set all the people as a guard for the king, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. 11Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him #Deut. 17:18, 19 the testimony. And they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, #See 1 Sam. 10:24“Long live the king.”
Athaliah Executed
12When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. 13And when she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” 14Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains who were set over the army, saying to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her is to be put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” 15So they laid hands on her,#23:15 Or they made a passage for her and she went into the entrance of #Neh. 3:28; Jer. 31:40; [2 Kgs. 11:16]the horse gate of the king’s house, and they put her to death there.
Jehoiada’s Reforms
16And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. 17Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, #Deut. 13:9and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18And Jehoiada posted watchmen for the house of the Lord under the direction of #ch. 5:5; 30:27 the Levitical priests and the Levites #1 Chr. 23:6, 30, 31; 24:1 whom David had organized to be in charge of the house of the Lord, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, #Num. 28:2 as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, #[1 Chr. 25:2]according to the order of David. 19He stationed #See 1 Chr. 26:1-19the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean. 20And he took the captains, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching #[2 Kgs. 11:19; 15:35]through the upper gate to the king’s house. And they set the king on the royal throne. 21So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword.
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