2 Chronicles 23
1599 Geneva Bible
23 Joash the son of Ahaziah is made king. 15 Athaliah is put to death. 17 The temple of Baal is destroyed. 16 Jehoiada appointeth ministers in the Temple.
1 And (A)[a]in the seventh year Jehoiada waxed bold, and took the captains of hundreds, to wit, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri in covenant with him.
2 And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the [b]chief fathers of Israel: and they came to Jerusalem.
3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the King in the house of God: and he said unto them, Behold, the King’s son must reign, (B)as the Lord hath said of the sons of David.
4 This is it that ye shall do, The third part of you that come on the Sabbath of the Priests, and the Levites, shall be porters of the doors.
5 And another third part toward the King’s house, and another third part at the (C)gate of the [c]foundation, and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord.
6 But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the Priests, and the Levites that minister, they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord.
7 And the Levites shall compass the King round about, and every man with his weapon in his hand, and he that entereth [d]into the house, shall be slain, and be you with the king, when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
8 ¶ So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the Priest had commanded, and took every man his men that came on the Sabbath, with them that [e]went out on the Sabbath: for Jehoiada the Priest did not discharge the courses.
9 And Jehoiada the Priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and shields, and bucklers which had been King David’s, and were in the house of God.
10 And he caused all the people to stand (every man with his weapon in his hand) from the right side of the house, to the left side of the house by the altar and by the [f]house round about the king.
11 Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown and gave him the [g]testimony, and made him King. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.
12 ¶ But when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the King, she came to the people into the house of the Lord.
13 And when she [h]looked, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the King, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew the trumpets, and the singers were with instruments of music, and they that could sing praise: then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, [i]Treason, treason.
14 Then Jehoiada the Priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were governors of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges, and he that [j]followeth her, let him die by the sword: for the Priest had said, Slay her not in the house of the Lord.
15 So they laid hands on her: and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king’s house, they slew her there.
16 ¶ And Jehoiada made a [k]covenant between him and all the people, and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.
17 And all the people went to the house of Baal, and [l]destroyed, and brake his altars and his images, and slew [m]Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
18 And Jehoiada appointed officers for the house of the Lord, under the [n]hands of the Priests and Levites, whom David had distributed for the house of the Lord, to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord, (D)as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing by the appointment of David.
19 And he set porters by the gates of the house of the Lord, that none that was unclean in anything, should enter in.
20 And he took the captains of hundreds, and the noble men, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and he caused the king to come down out of the house of the Lord, and they went through the [o]high gate of the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.
21 Then all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet [p]after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 23:1 Of the reign of Athaliah, or after the death of Ahaziah.
- 2 Chronicles 23:2 Meaning of Judah and Benjamin: read why they are called Israel, 2 Chron. 15:17.
- 2 Chronicles 23:5 Which was the chief gate of the Temple toward the East.
- 2 Chronicles 23:7 Meaning, to make any tumult, or to hinder their enterprise.
- 2 Chronicles 23:8 Which had finished their course on the Sabbath, and so the other part entered to keep their turn.
- 2 Chronicles 23:10 Meaning, the most holy place where the Ark stood.
- 2 Chronicles 23:11 That is, the book of the Law, or as some read, they put upon him his royal apparel.
- 2 Chronicles 23:13 Or, saw the king standing.
- 2 Chronicles 23:13 Declaring her vile impudence, which having unjustly and by murder usurped the crown, would still have defeated the true possessor, and therefore called true obedience treason.
- 2 Chronicles 23:14 To join with her party, and to maintain her authority.
- 2 Chronicles 23:16 That they would only serve him and renounce all idolatry.
- 2 Chronicles 23:17 According to their covenant made to the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 23:17 As the Lord commanded in his Law both for the person and also the city, Deut. 13:9 and 15.
- 2 Chronicles 23:18 Or, charge.
- 2 Chronicles 23:20 Which was the principal gate, that the King might be seen of all the people.
- 2 Chronicles 23:21 For where a tyrant and an idolater reigneth, there can be no quietness for the plagues of God are ever among such people.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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