2 Kings 11-12

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

11 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. ² But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put^[a] him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they^[b] hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. ³ And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Anointed King in Judah

⁴ But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king’s son. ⁵ And he commanded them, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king’s house ⁶ (another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.^{[c] 7} And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king, ⁸ shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”

⁹ The captains 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, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king. ¹² Then he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

¹³ When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹⁴ And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁵ Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁶ So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was put to death.

¹⁷ And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people, and also between the king and the people. ¹⁸ Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord. ¹⁹ And he took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the gate of the guards to the king’s house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the king’s house.

Jehoash Reigns in Judah

^21 [d] Jehoash^[e] was seven years old when he began to reign.

12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash^[f] began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.

Jehoash Repairs the Temple

⁴ Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, ⁵ let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” ⁶ But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. ⁷ Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” ⁸ So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.

⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. ¹⁰ And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, ¹² and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. ¹³ But there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, ¹⁴ for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. ¹⁵ And they did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. ¹⁶ The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ At that time Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it. But when Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem, ¹⁸ Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred gifts that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred gifts, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent these to Hazael king of Syria. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.

The Death of Joash

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁰ His servants arose and made a conspiracy and struck down Joash in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. ²¹ It was Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

1. 2 Kings 11:2 Compare 2 Chronicles 22:11; Hebrew lacks and she put
2. 2 Kings 11:2 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate (compare 2 Chronicles 22:11) she
3. 2 Kings 11:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
4. 2 Kings 11:21 Ch 12:1 in Hebrew
5. 2 Kings 11:21 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Ahaziah) as in verse 2
6. 2 Kings 12:1 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Ahaziah) as in 11:2; also verses 2, 4, 6, 7, 18

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

11 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. ² But ^[a]Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took ^[b]Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. ³ So he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah

⁴ In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the ^[c]escorts—and brought them into the house of the Lord to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the Lord, and showed them the king’s son. ⁵ Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: One-third of you who ^[d]come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house, ⁶ one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. ⁷ The two ^[e]contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord for the king. ⁸ But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”

⁹ So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of the Lord. ¹¹ Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right ^[f]side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house. ¹² And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony;^[g] they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah

¹³ Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁵ And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside ^[h]under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁶ So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed.

¹⁷ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people, and also between the king and the people. ¹⁸ And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and ^[i]images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed ^[j]officers over the house of the Lord. ¹⁹ Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house. ²¹ Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.

Jehoash Repairs the Temple

12 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash^[k] became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ² Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³ But the ^[l]high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴ And Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the Lord—each man’s census^[m] money, each man’s assessment money—and all the money that ^[n]a man purposes in his heart to bring into the house of the Lord, ⁵ let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the ^[o]damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found.”

⁶ Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple. ⁷ So King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” ⁸ And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.

⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who ^[p]kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the Lord. ¹⁰ So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe^[q] and the high priest came up and ^[r]put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they ^[s]paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the Lord, ¹² and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to repair the damage of the house of the Lord, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple. ¹³ However there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the Lord with it. ¹⁵ Moreover they did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully. ¹⁶ The money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord. It belonged to the priests.

Hazael Threatens Jerusalem

¹⁷ Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then Hazael set his face to ^[t]go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred things that his fathers, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria. Then he went away from Jerusalem.

Death of Joash

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of ^[u]Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁰ And his servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of ^[v]the Millo, which goes down to Silla. ²¹ For ^[w]Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of ^[x]Shomer, his servants, struck him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

1. 2 Kings 11:2 Jehoshabeath, 2 Chr. 22:11
2. 2 Kings 11:2 Or Jehoash
3. 2 Kings 11:4 guards
4. 2 Kings 11:5 Lit. enter in
5. 2 Kings 11:7 companies
6. 2 Kings 11:11 Lit. shoulder
7. 2 Kings 11:12 Law, Ex. 25:16, 21; Deut. 31:9
8. 2 Kings 11:15 Lit. between ranks
9. 2 Kings 11:18 Idols
10. 2 Kings 11:18 Lit. offices
11. 2 Kings 12:1 Joash, 2 Kin. 11:2ff.
12. 2 Kings 12:3 Places for pagan worship
13. 2 Kings 12:4 Lit. the money coming over
14. 2 Kings 12:4 any man’s heart prompts him to bring
15. 2 Kings 12:5 Lit. breaches
16. 2 Kings 12:9 guarded at the door
17. 2 Kings 12:10 secretary
18. 2 Kings 12:10 tied it up
19. 2 Kings 12:11 Lit. weighed
20. 2 Kings 12:17 Advance upon
21. 2 Kings 12:19 Jehoash, vv. 1–18
22. 2 Kings 12:20 Lit. The Landfill
23. 2 Kings 12:21 Zabad, 2 Chr. 24:26
24. 2 Kings 12:21 Shimrith, 2 Chr. 24:26