So then the  ¹church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had  ²peace,  ³being built up; and going on in the  ⁴fear of the Lord and in the  ⁵comfort of the Holy Spirit, it was multiplied.

Now as Peter was passing through all those parts, he came down also to the saints dwelling at  ¹Lydda.

And he found there a certain man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been lying on a mat, for he was paralyzed.

And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and  ¹make up your own bed. And immediately he rose up.

And all those dwelling in Lydda and Sharon saw him; and they turned to the Lord.

Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is  ¹Dorcas); this woman was full of good works and alms which she did.

And in those days she became ill and died; and they bathed  ¹her body and laid it in an upper room.

Now because Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was  ¹there, and they sent two men to him, entreating him, Do not delay to come through to us.

And Peter rose up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him up into the upper room. And all the widows stood by him, weeping and showing him  ¹tunics and garments, all of which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

And Peter put them all outside; and kneeling down, he prayed; and he turned to the body and said, Tabitha, rise up. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

And giving her his hand, he raised her up. And when he had called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive.

And it became known throughout all of Joppa and many believed on the Lord.

And he remained a considerable number of days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.

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.

And concerning his sons and the many oracles against him and his laying the foundations of the house of God, indeed these things are written in the commentary of the book of the kings.