2 Kings

And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

1Athaliah was the mother of King Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she acted. She killed everyone in the royal family who might become king.

2But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

2But Jehosheba was the daughter of King Joram and the sister of Ahaziah. She took Joash, the little son of Ahaziah, away from the king's sons who were being killed. She hid him and his nurse in a bedroom. Athaliah never found him, so he was not killed.

3And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.

3Joash stayed hidden with his nurse in the temple, God's house, for six years. All that time Athaliah ruled the land.

4And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son.

4In the seventh year, a priest named Jehoiada sent for the army commanders and the palace guards. He brought them into the temple. He made an agreement with them and had them promise to keep it. Then he showed them the king's son.

5And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;

5He told them what to do. One third of you who start work on the Sabbath, the weekly rest day, will guard the palace.

6And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.

6One third of you will stand at the gate of Sur. One third will stand at the gate behind the guards. Take turns watching over the temple.

7And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.

7The two groups who would normally go home that day have a job too. They will guard the temple and stay close around the king.

8And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.

8Stand in a circle around the king with your weapons ready. Anyone who tries to push through your lines must be killed. Stay with the king wherever he goes.

9And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

9The commanders did just what Jehoiada the priest told them. Each one gathered his men. He took both those starting work and those finishing. Then they came to Jehoiada the priest.

10And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD.

10The priest gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David. They had been kept in the temple.

11And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.

11The guards stood around the king with their weapons ready. They lined up from one side of the temple to the other. They stood near the altar and the temple building.

12And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.

12Jehoiada brought out the king's son. He put the crown on his head and handed him the Testimony. They made him king and poured oil on him. The people clapped their hands and shouted, "Long live the king!"

NotePouring oil on someone's head was how a new king was marked out for the job. The "Testimony" was a copy of God's law, handed to the king to keep.

13And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD.

13Athaliah heard the noise of the guards and the people. So she came out to the people at the temple.

14And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.

14She looked and saw the young king standing by the pillar, the way kings always did. Officers and trumpet players stood beside him. All the people of the land were glad and blew their trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Treason! Treason!" She meant that people had turned against her.

NoteTearing your own clothes was how people showed great shock or grief.

15But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

15Jehoiada the priest gave an order to the army commanders. He said, "Take her out between the rows of guards. Kill anyone who follows her." The priest had said she must not be killed inside the temple.

16And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain.

16So they took hold of her. She was led to the gate where horses go into the palace. There she was killed.

17And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people; between the king also and the people.

17Then Jehoiada made an agreement between the LORD, the king, and the people. They promised to be the LORD's people. He also made an agreement between the king and the people.

18And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

18All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, a false god. They tore it down. They smashed his altars and statues to pieces. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. Then Jehoiada put guards at the house of the LORD.

19And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

19Jehoiada took the commanders, the guards, and all the people with him. They brought the king down from the temple to the palace. They went in through the Gate of the Guards. Then the king sat down on the royal throne.

20And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house.

20All the people of the land were glad, and the city was calm and quiet. Athaliah had been killed with a sword beside the palace.

21Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

21Joash was seven years old when he became king.

NoteThe King James Bible says "Jehoash" here. That is just another way of saying Joash. It is the same boy.