And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made  ¹Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who had come up to the camp with the Arabians had slain all the older sons; so Ahaziah the son of Jehoram the king of Judah reigned.

Ahaziah was  ¹twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Athaliah, the  ²daughter of Omri.

He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in acting wickedly.

And he did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his own destruction.

He walked also in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab the king of Israel to battle against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians struck  ¹Joram,

And he returned to heal in Jezreel because of the wounds that they had inflicted on him in Ramah when he fought with Hazael the king of Syria. And  ¹Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was sick.

Now the downfall of Ahaziah was of God, because he went to Joram. And when he arrived, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

And when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the captains of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers serving Ahaziah; and he slew them.

And he sought for Ahaziah, and they caught him; for he had been hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and killed him. And they buried him, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who pursued Jehovah with all his heart. And the house of Ahaziah did not have the strength to retain the kingdom.

And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose up and  ¹destroyed all the royal seed of the house of Judah.

But Jehoshabeath the daughter of the king took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the sons of the king who were being killed. And she put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest—for she was the sister of Ahaziah—hid him from Athaliah, so that she could not kill him.

And he was with them, hidden in the house of God, for six years. And Athaliah reigned over the land.

Then in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took the captains of the hundreds—Azariah the son of Jeroham and Ishmael the son of Johanan and Azariah the son of Obed and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah and Elishaphat the son of Zichri—into a covenant with him.

And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And  ¹Jehoiada said to them, Now, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah spoke concerning the sons of David.

This is the thing that you shall do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be the doorkeepers;

And another third shall keep watch in the king's house, and another third shall keep watch in the Gate of the Foundation, and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of Jehovah.

But let no one come into the house of Jehovah except the priests and the ministering Levites; they can come because they are holy; but all the people shall keep the charge of Jehovah.

And the Levites shall surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house shall be put to death; and you shall be with the king in his comings and goings.

And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded them. And each took his men, those who came on duty on the Sabbath with those who went off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions.

And Jehoiada the priest gave the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David, which were in the house of God, to the captains of the hundreds.

And he set all the people, each man with his javelin in his hand, from the right flank of the house to the left flank of the house, by the altar and by the house, to guard the king all around.

And they brought the king's son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony, and they made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they said, Long live the king!

Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went to the people at the house of Jehovah.

And she looked, and there was the king, standing by the pillar at the entrance, with the captains and their trumpets near the king. And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew the trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments were leading the praise. And Athaliah tore her clothes and said, Treason! Treason!

And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of the hundreds who had been set over the army and said to them, Bring her out between the ranks, and anyone who follows her shall be killed with a sword; for the priest said, They shall not kill her in the house of Jehovah.

And they made way for her, and she went to the king's house through the entrance of the horses' gate; and they killed her there.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they would be Jehovah's people.

And all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down: The altars to him and his images they broke up, and they slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

And Jehoiada placed officers of the house of Jehovah under the authority of the Levitical priests whom David had apportioned over the house of Jehovah, to offer up the burnt offerings of Jehovah, as was written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, according to the order of David.

And he set the doorkeepers at the doors of the house of Jehovah so that no one would enter who was unclean in any respect.

And  ¹Jehoiada gathered the captains of the hundreds and the nobles and the rulers of the people and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the house of Jehovah. And they went through the upper gate to the king's house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet; for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

And Joash did what was right in the sight of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he begot sons and daughters.

Now after this it came up in Joash's heart to restore the house of Jehovah.

And he gathered the priests and Levites and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and collect from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and you shall do the matter quickly. But the Levites did not act quickly.

So the king called for Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, Why have you not required of the Levites to bring from Judah and from Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses the servant of Jehovah on the congregation of Israel for the Tent of Testimony?

For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken up the house of God and even used the holy things of the house of Jehovah for the Baals.

And the king gave orders, and they made a chest and put it outside, by the gate of the house of Jehovah.

And they made a proclamation in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring to Jehovah the tax levied by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.

And all the officers and all the people rejoiced, and they brought their taxes and cast them into the chest until they had finished.

And whenever the chest was brought to the king's officer by the Levites, and whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money, the king's scribe and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and take it and return it to its place. They did so daily, and they collected a large amount of money.

And the king and Jehoiada would give it to those who did the work of service of the house of Jehovah, and they would hire stone hewers and carpenters to restore the house of Jehovah, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of Jehovah.

And those who did the work worked, and the restoration work progressed in their hands; and they restored the house of God to its proper proportions and strengthened it.

And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada and made with it vessels for the house of Jehovah, vessels for service and for offering up burnt offerings, and cups and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered up burnt offerings in the house of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada.

And when Jehoiada became old and full of days, he died; and he was one hundred thirty years old when he died.

And they buried him in the city of David with the kings, because he had done well in Israel and with God and His house.

And after the death of Jehoiada the captains of Judah came and bowed down to the king; then the king listened to them.

And they forsook the house of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and they served the Asherahs and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.

And He sent prophets to them to bring them back to Jehovah; and they testified to them, but they did not pay attention.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, Thus says God, Why do you transgress the commandments of Jehovah, so that you do not prosper? For you have forsaken Jehovah, and He has forsaken you.

So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of Jehovah.

Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had shown him, and he slew his son; and when he died he said, May Jehovah see and avenge!

And at the turn of the year the army of the Syrians came up against him and came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.

Although the army of the Syrians had come with a small number of men, Jehovah delivered into their hand a very great army, because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.

And when they went from him—for they left him in great sickness—his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest and slew him on his bed; and he died, and they buried him in the city of David. However they did not bury him among the tombs of the kings.

Now those who conspired against him were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.