2 Chronicles - Chapter 23

¹ In the seventh year Jehoiada decided to take action and made a pact with the regimental commanders, Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah and Elishaphat son of Zichri.

² These went all over Judah, gathering the Levites from all the towns of Judah, and the heads of the Israelite families, who then came to Jerusalem,

³ and the whole assembly made a pact with the king in the Temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, 'Look, the king's son is now to be king, as Yahweh has promised of the sons of David!

⁴ This is what you must do: a third of you priests and Levites who come on duty on the Sabbath must guard the gates,

⁵ a third the royal palace, a third the Foundation Gate, while the people must all stay in the courts of the Temple of Yahweh.

⁶ No one must enter the Temple of Yahweh except the priests and the ministering Levites; they may come in because they are consecrated. But the people must all observe Yahweh's regulations.

⁷ The Levites must surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hands; anyone who enters the Temple must be killed. And you will escort the king when he comes in and when he leaves.'

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did everything as Jehoiada the priest had ordered, and each one brought his men, those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions from duty.

⁹ Jehoiada the priest then issued the regimental commanders with King David's spears and large and small shields, which were kept in the Temple of God.

¹⁰ He then positioned all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the south side of the Temple to the north side of the Temple, close to the altar and the Temple, to form a circle round the king.

¹¹ Then they brought the king's son out, crowned him, gave him a copy of the covenant and made him king. When Jehoiada and his sons had anointed him, they shouted, 'Long live the king!'

¹² On hearing the people shouting as they ran to acclaim the king, Athaliah joined the people in the Temple of Yahweh.

¹³ When she looked, there stood the king on his dais by the entrance, with the officers and trumpeters at the king's side, and all the people of the country rejoicing and blowing the trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading the hymns of praise. Then Athaliah tore her cloths and shouted, 'Treason, treason!'

¹⁴ Jehoiada the priest then gave the order to the regimental commanders in charge of the troops, 'Take her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her.' For the priest had already said, 'Do not kill her inside the Temple of Yahweh.'

¹⁵ So they made way for her, and when she reached the entrance to the Horses' Gate of the palace, they killed her there.

¹⁶ Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, all the people and the king to remain Yahweh's people.

¹⁷ All the people then went to the temple of Baal and demolished it; they smashed its altars and its images and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

¹⁸ Jehoiada entrusted the security of the Temple of Yahweh to the priests and Levites, whom David had put in charge of the Temple of Yahweh to present the burnt offerings of Yahweh as laid down in the Law of Moses, with joy and song as ordained by David.

¹⁹ He also appointed gatekeepers for the gates of the Temple of Yahweh, so that no one who was unclean might enter for any purpose at all.

²⁰ He then took the regimental commanders, the nobles, the government officials and all the people of the land and he escorted the king down from the Temple of Yahweh. Entering the palace through the Upper Gate, they placed the king on the royal throne.

²¹ All the people of the land were delighted, and the city made no move after Athaliah had been put to death.

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