2 Kings 11
11
Athaliah Usurps the Throne
(2 Chronicles 22.10—23.21)
1And when Athali´ah the mother of Ahazi´ah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 2But Jehosh´eba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahazi´ah, took Jo´ash the son of Ahazi´ah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athali´ah, so that he was not slain. 3And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athali´ah did reign over the land.
4And the seventh year Jehoi´ada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and showed them the king's son. 5And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house; 6and a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. 7And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king. 8And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.
9And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoi´ada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoi´ada the priest. 10And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. 11And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. 12And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.
13And when Athali´ah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. 14And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athali´ah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, treason. 15But Jehoi´ada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges; and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord. 16And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.
17And Jehoi´ada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people; between the king also and the people. 18And all the people of the land went into the house of Ba´al, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Ba´al before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. 19And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athali´ah with the sword beside the king's house.
21Seven years old was Jeho´ash when he began to reign.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
2 Kings 11
11
Queen Athaliah of Judah
(2 Chr 22.10—23.15)
1As soon as King Ahaziah's mother Athaliah learnt of her son's murder, she gave orders for all the members of the royal family to be killed. 2Only Ahaziah's son Joash escaped. He was about to be killed with the others, but was rescued by his aunt Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's half-sister. She took him and his nurse into a bedroom in the Temple and hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. 3For six years Jehosheba took care of the boy and kept him hidden in the Temple, while Athaliah ruled as queen.
4But in the seventh year Jehoiada the priest sent for the officers in charge of the royal bodyguard and of the palace guards, and told them to come to the Temple, where he made them agree under oath to what he planned to do. He showed them King Ahaziah's son Joash 5and gave them the following orders: “When you come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of you are to guard the palace; 6another third are to stand guard at the Sur Gate, and the other third are to stand guard at the gate behind the other guards.#11.6 Hebrew has an additional word, the meaning of which is unclear. 7The two groups that go off duty on the Sabbath are to stand guard at the Temple to protect the king. 8You are to guard King Joash with drawn swords and stay with him wherever he goes. Anyone who comes near you is to be killed.”
9The officers obeyed Jehoiada's instructions and brought their men to him — those going off duty on the Sabbath and those going on duty. 10He gave the officers the spears#11.10 Some ancient translations (and see 2 Chr 23.9) spears; Hebrew spear. and shields that had belonged to King David and had been kept in the Temple, 11and he stationed the men with drawn swords all round the front of the Temple, to protect the king. 12Then Jehoiada led Joash out, placed the crown on his head, and gave him a copy of the laws governing kingship. Then Joash was anointed and proclaimed king. The people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13Queen Athaliah heard the noise being made by the guards and the people, so she hurried to the Temple, where the crowd had gathered. 14#2 Kgs 23.3There she saw the new king standing by the column at the entrance of the Temple, as was the custom. He was surrounded by the officers and the trumpeters, and the people were all shouting joyfully and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes in distress and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
15Jehoiada did not want Athaliah killed in the temple area, so he ordered the army officers: “Take her out between the rows of guards, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her.” 16They seized her, took her to the palace, and there at the Horse Gate they killed her.
Jehoiada's Reforms
(2 Chr 23.16–21)
17The priest Jehoiada made King Joash and the people enter into a covenant with the LORD that they would be the LORD's people; he also made a covenant between the king and the people. 18Then the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down; they smashed the altars and the idols, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
Jehoiada put guards on duty at the Temple, 19and then he, the officers, the royal bodyguard, and the palace guards escorted the king from the Temple to the palace, followed by all the people. Joash entered by the Guard Gate and took his place on the throne. 20All the people were filled with happiness, and the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been killed in the palace.
21Joash became king of Judah at the age of seven.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.