2 Kings 11
Queen Athaliah and King Joash
1Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. She heard the news that her son was dead. Then, she started to kill all the king’s family. 2Jehosheba was the daughter of King Jehoram. She was the sister of Ahaziah. She took Joash away from the sons of the king, because Athaliah was ready to kill them. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehosheba put Joash and the woman who fed him from her breast in a bedroom. Athaliah did not kill Joash because Jehosheba had hidden him. 3Athaliah ruled the country (Judah) for 6 years. All this time Jehosheba hid Joash in the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 4In the 7th year that Athaliah ruled Judah, Jehoiada asked these people to come to him: the leaders of groups of 100 Caritesthe soldiers that made the palace safe.
They came to him in the house of the LORD. They agreed together with Jehoiada. He asked them to say a special promise, in the house of the LORD. Then he showed to them the king’s son Joash. 5Jehoiada said to them, ‘This is what you must do. A third of your soldiers that come to work on the Sabbath must do this. They must make the door to the palace safe. 6Another third of your soldiers must stand at the Sur Gate. The other third must be at the gate of the LORD‘s house. They must be behind the soldiers that usually make the LORD‘s house safe. 7But two groups of your soldiers do not usually work on the Sabbath. Those soldiers must all make the LORD‘s house safe for the king. 8You must stand all round the king. Each soldier must have his weapons in his hand ready to use. Anybody that comes near to you, you must kill. You must stay near to the king everywhere that he goes.’ 9The leaders of the groups of 100 soldiers did what Jehoiada the priest asked them to do. Each leader brought his men to Jehoiada the priest. They brought those men that worked on the Sabbath. They also brought those that did not usually work on the Sabbath. 10Then Jehoiada gave to the leaders the spears and the shields that had been King David’s. They were in the house of the LORD. 11Each soldier had his weapons in his hand. They stood round the king. They were near to the altar and to the house of the LORD. They stood from the south side to the north side of the house. 12Jehoiada brought the king’s son and Jehoiada put him in front of all the people. He put the crown on to his head and he gave to him a copy of the covenant. He said that Joash was king. They poured oil on to him. They hit their hands together. Then they shouted, ‘We want the king to be alive for a long time!’ 13But Athaliah heard the noise that the soldiers and the people made. So she went to the people that were at the house of the LORD. 14She looked and she saw the king. He was standing in the usual place where they made someone into a king. The leaders of the army and the men with trumpets were by the king. All the people in the country were very happy. Many of them blew into trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes. She shouted, ‘Treason! treason!’ 15Jehoiada, the priest, said to each leader of 100 soldiers what they must do. ‘Bring her out of the house of the LORD. Keep her between groups of soldiers. Kill with a sword anyone that follows her.’ That was because the priest had said, ‘You must not kill her in the house of the LORD.’ 16So they took her to the place where horses went into the king’s palace. There they killed her. 17Then Jehoiada made a covenant. It was between the LORD, the king and the people. They agreed to be the LORD‘s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. 18All the people in the country went to the house of Baal. They tore it into pieces. They destroyed the altars and the false gods. Mattan was the priest of Baal. They killed him in front of the altars. Then Jehoiada the priest put soldiers to make the house of the LORD safe. 19Jehoiada took with him these people: the leaders of 100 soldiers
the Carites and the soldiers
all the people of the country called Judah.
They all brought the king down from the house of the LORD into the palace. They went in to the palace through the gate where the soldiers stayed. Then the king sat on the king’s special seat. 20All the people in the country were very happy. And the city Jerusalem was quiet. That was because they had killed Athaliah with the sword at the palace. And Joash was 7 years old when he began to rule Judah. 21
Notes about chapter 11 ▼▼11:21 Verse 6 Bible students do not know where the Sur gate was. ▼▼11:21 Verse 9 Priests sacrificed animals to God in God’s house in Jerusalem. Jehoiada was the leader of the priests.
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