Chapter 11
The Rule of Athaliah. 1 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she killed all of the royal heirs. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and secreted him away from the king’s sons who were being murdered. They hid him and his nurse from Athaliah in the bed chamber so that he might not die.
3 He was hidden with her for six years in the temple of the Lord, and Athaliah reigned over the land. 4 In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for and summoned the captains of the hundreds, the Carites,[a] and the guards. He brought them to the temple of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the temple of the Lord. Then he showed them the king’s son.
5 He commanded them, “This is what you are to do: for the one-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath: a third of you are to guard the king’s palace; 6 a third of you are to be at the Sur Gate; and a third at the gate behind the guard. Guard the palace. 7 For the other two-thirds of you who come off duty on the Sabbath and who keep guard in the temple of the Lord and the king’s palace, 8 surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand. 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 of the hundreds did everything that Jehoiada, the priest, had commanded. Each of them brought the men who were coming on duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were going off duty on the Sabbath and they came to Jehoiada the priest.
10 The priest gave the captains of the hundreds the spears and the shields that had belonged to King David and that were kept in the temple of the Lord. 11 The guards stood with their weapons in their hands from the southern side of the temple to the northern side of the temple by the altar and the temple, surrounding the king.
12 He brought the king’s son out and put a crown on him. He gave him the testimony, and they proclaimed him as king and anointed him, clapping their hands and proclaiming, “Long live the king!”
13 When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. 14 She looked out and behold, the king was standing by a pillar,[b] as was the custom, with the princes and the trumpeters standing by the king. All the people of the land rejoiced and blew the trumpets.
Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!” 15 Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds and the commanders of the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” (This was because the priest had said that she was not to be killed in the temple of the Lord.)
16 They seized her as she passed by the place where the horses enter the king’s palace. She was put to death there.
17 Jehoiada made a covenant[c] between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made one between the king and the people.
18 All of the people went into the temple of Baal. They smashed to pieces his altars and his images. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
The priest then appointed guards for the temple of the Lord. 19 He took the captains of the hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and the people of the land with him and they brought down the king from the temple of the Lord and entered the royal palace by way of the guards’ gate. He then took his place on the royal throne.
20 All of the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for Athaliah had been put to the sword in the royal palace.
21 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 11:4 Carites: Hebrew, Kari; corresponds perhaps to the Cherethites of 1 Ki 1:38; they were the king’s bodyguard.
- 2 Kings 11:14 Standing by a pillar: the king was awarded this special place in the temple court on feasts and Sabbaths near the altar for burnt offerings.
- 2 Kings 11:17 Made a covenant: this was not a new covenant but a renewal of the covenant made with the Lord over 100 years before as described in the Book of Deuteronomy that had been long forgotten and disregarded by the king and the people. Here there is a further reference to a second covenant between the king and the people.