2 Chronicles 23

1 After Joash had been hidden in the temple for six years, Jehoiada the priest decided that it was necessary to do something. So he made an agreement with the army commanders of groups of 100 soldiers: 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 Zicri.

But in the seventh year, Jehoiada had the courage to act. He made a pledge with the commanders of hundreds: Azariah, son of Jeroham, Ishmael, son of Jehohanan, Azariah, son of Obed, Maaseiah, son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, son of Zichri.

2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the descendants of Levi and the leaders of Israeli families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem,

They traveled all over Judah and brought together the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the family leaders of Israel. When they came to Jerusalem,

3 the whole group went to the temple and made an agreement with the young king there. Jehoiada said to them, “This is the son of the previous king of Judah. So he is the one who must rule, like Yahweh promised that the descendants of King David must do.

they all assembled at God's Temple and made a solemn agreement with the king. Jehoiada announced to them, “Look, here is the king's son and he must reign, just as the Lord promised the descendants of David would.

4 “So this is what you must do: One-third of you priests and other descendants of Levi who are starting their work on the Sabbath day must guard the doors [of the temple].

Here's what you have to do. One third of you priests and Levites who enter on the Sabbath shall guard the entrances.

5 One-third of you must guard the king’s palace, and one-third of you must guard the Foundation Gate. All the other people will be in the courtyards outside the temple.

Another third shall go over to the king's palace, while the last third shall be at the Foundation Gate. Everyone else stay in the courtyards of the Lord's Temple.

6 Only the priests and the descendants of Levi who work there will enter the temple. They will be allowed to enter the temple because they are set apart [for that work]. All the others must remain in the courtyards, obeying what Yahweh has commanded.

No one should enter the Lord's Temple except the priests and those Levites are serving. They can enter because they have been made holy, but everyone else must follow the Lord's commands.

7 You descendants of Levi must stand around the young king, each of you with your weapon in your hand. Anyone else who tries to enter the temple you must kill. And stay close to the young king, wherever he goes.”

The Levites shall surround the king, weapons in hand. Kill anyone who enters the Temple. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

8 So the descendants of Levi and all [the men of] Judah did what Jehoiada had told them. He did not allow anyone to go home after having finished his work on that Sabbath day. Each commander took charge of his men, the ones who were finishing their work on that day and those who were starting their work on that day.

The Levites and all the people of Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest told them. The commanders each brought his men, both those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty, for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of the divisions.

9 Then Jehoiada gave each of the commanders the spears and the large and small shields that had been put there in the temple by King David.

Jehoiada the priest provided the commanders with the spears and the large and small shields of King David that were in God's Temple.

10 He commanded all the guards to stand in their positions, each with his sword in his hand, all around the king—around the altar and the temple, from the north side to the south side.

He placed them all, with their weapons in hand, to surround the king from the south side of the Temple to the north side, and near the altar and the Temple.

11 Then Jehoiada and his sons brought Joash out. They put a crown on his head and gave him [a scroll] on which were written the rules [that the kings needed to obey], and proclaimed that he was now the king. They anointed him with olive oil and shouted, “We hope that the king will live for many years!”

Jehoiada and his sons then brought out the king's son, placed the crown on him, presented him with a copy of God's law, and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and shouted out, “Long live the king!”

12 When Athaliah heard the noise being made by the people running [toward the king] and cheering, she ran to the temple.

When Athaliah heard the noise of people running and shouting praise to the king, she rushed to the crowds at the Lord's Temple.

13 She saw the young king there, standing alongside the pillar at the entrance of the temple, [which is the place at the temple] where the kings usually stood. The army commanders and trumpet players were standing beside the king, and all the people of Judah were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers with their musical instruments were leading the people while they praised God. Then Athaliah tore her robes and started screaming, “You are committing treason!”

She saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The commanders and trumpeters were with the king, and everyone was celebrating and blowing trumpets as the singers with musical instruments led the praise. Athaliah ripped her clothes and screamed out, “Treason! Treason!”

14 Jehoiada the Supreme Priest said to the army commanders, “Kill her, but do not kill her at the temple of Yahweh!” Then he said to them, “Bring Athaliah out in front of the troops and kill anyone who tries to follow her!”

Jehoiada ordered the army commanders, “Bring her to the men standing in front of the Temple, and kill anyone who follows her.” Earlier the priest had made it clear, “She must not be killed in the Lord's Temple.”

15 [She tried to flee, but] they seized her as she reached the gate where horses enter the palace area, and they killed her there.

They grabbed hold of her and took her to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king's palace, and killed her there.

16 Then Jehoiada made an agreement that he and the king and all the other people would be Yahweh’s people.

Then Jehoiada made a solemn agreement between himself and all the people and the king that they would be the Lord's people.

17 Then all the people who were there went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars [of Baal]. They also killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of those altars.

Everyone went to the Temple of Baal and tore down its altars and smashed the idols. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, right in front of the altar.

18 Then Jehoiada appointed the priests, who were also descended from Levi, to work at the temple. They were part of the group to whom King David had given various jobs at the temple, to sacrifice the animals that were to be completely burned on the altar, doing what was written in the laws that Moses had given to them. He also told them to rejoice and sing, which was also what David had commanded.

Jehoiada placed the responsibility for the Lord's Temple in the hands of the Levitical priests. They were the ones whom David had appointed over the Lord's Temple to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, as is required by the Law of Moses, with celebration and singing, as David instructed.

19 He also put guards at the gates of the temple in order that anyone who was unacceptable to God would not be allowed to enter.

He placed gatekeepers at the entrances to the Lord's Temple, so that no one unclean for any reason could enter.

20 Jehoiada took with him the army commanders, the important men, the leaders and many others, and brought the king down from the temple. They went into the palace through the Upper Gate, and put the king on his throne.

Along with the commanders, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people, he led the king in a procession down from the Lord's Temple through the upper gate to the royal palace. There they set the king on the royal throne.

21 Then all the people of Judah rejoiced. And there was calm throughout the city, because Athaliah had been killed.

All throughout the land people celebrated, and Jerusalem was at peace, because Athaliah had been killed by the sword.