Athaliah

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.

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

NoteIn those days a king's son became the next king after him. Athaliah killed the boys in the family so that she could rule instead.

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.

But 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.

NoteJehosheba was Joash's aunt. A nurse was a woman who fed a baby and cared for him. Joash was still very small.

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

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

NoteThe temple was God's house in Jerusalem. It had many side rooms where the priests lived, so a child could stay hidden there.

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.

And 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.

NoteA priest was a man whose job was to lead worship at God's house. The agreement he made was a strong promise that everyone meant to keep.

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

And 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;

NoteThe guards worked in turns. On the Sabbath one group started work and another group went home to rest.

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.

And 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.

NoteNobody today knows where the gate of Sur was. It was one of the ways into the palace.

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.

And 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.

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.

And 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.

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.

And 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.

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

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

NoteKing David had ruled the land long before this. His old spears and shields had been kept safe in the temple for many years.

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.

And 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.

NoteAn altar was a stone table. People burned gifts to God on top of it.

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!"

And 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.

NoteA crown is a gold circle worn on the head to show that someone is king. The Testimony was a copy of God's rules for the king to keep. Pouring oil on his head was a way of showing that God had picked him for the job. "Long live the king" was a happy shout, wishing him many years.

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

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

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.

And 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.

NoteA pillar is a tall stone post inside a building. Kings stood in that same spot for important moments. The trumpets were long horns, blown when something big and happy happened. When people were very upset or angry, they tore their own clothes so everyone could see how they felt.

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.

But 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.

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

And 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.

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.

And 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.

NoteThe LORD is God's own name in this book. A promise this serious was called a covenant.

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.

And 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.

NoteBaal was a god that some people prayed to instead of the LORD. The statues were carved figures of him that people bowed down to.

19Jehoiada took the commanders, the king's own soldiers, 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.

And 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.

NoteA throne is the special chair a king sits in when he rules.

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.

And 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.

2Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother was named Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri.

Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

NoteIsrael was the other land of God's people, just north of Judah. Omri had been a king there. So Ahaziah's mother came from that royal family. The King James says Ahaziah was forty-two here, but 2 Kings 8:26 says twenty-two. His father died at forty, so forty-two would make him older than his own father. Someone copying this book long ago most likely wrote the wrong number.

3Ahaziah lived the same wrong way that Ahab's family lived. His own mother told him to do wicked things.

He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.

NoteAhab was a king of Israel. He and his family prayed to statues instead of God. "Wicked" means very bad on purpose.

4So he did what the LORD said was evil, just like Ahab's family did. After his father died, they told him what to do. Their advice ruined him.

Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.

NoteThe King James writes "the LORD" in big letters. That stands for God's own special name.

10Athaliah was Ahaziah's mother. When she saw that her son was dead, she began killing the whole royal family of Judah.

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

NoteThe royal family means the king's children and close relatives. Long ago, a person taking over sometimes killed them all. Then no one was left who could take the throne back.

11But Jehoshabeath, a daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash, the baby son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from the king's sons who were being killed. She hid him and the woman who cared for him in a bedroom. Jehoshabeath was Ahaziah's sister and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She hid Joash from Athaliah, so Athaliah could not kill him.

But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. 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 slew him not.

NoteA priest was a man whose job was to lead people in worshiping God. The woman who cared for Joash fed him and looked after him, like a babysitter who lived with the family.

12Joash stayed hidden with them in God's house for six years. During those years, Athaliah ruled the land.

And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

NoteGod's house was the temple in Jerusalem. It was the special building where people came to worship God.

1In the seventh year, Jehoiada the priest felt brave and ready. He made a promise with five army leaders who each led a hundred men. They were Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, 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, into covenant with him.

NoteA priest was a man who led worship at God's house. Jehoiada was the chief priest in Jerusalem. The king's baby son had been hidden for six years. A woman named Athaliah had made herself ruler instead. The King James word for this promise is "covenant." A covenant is a very strong promise people keep no matter what. "Captains of hundreds" were army leaders in charge of a hundred soldiers each.

2These men traveled all around Judah. They gathered the Levites, the men who helped at God's house, from every town. They also gathered the leaders of the big family groups. Then everyone came to Jerusalem.

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

NoteThe Levites all came from one family, the family of Levi. Their job was helping the priests at God's house. God's people were split into large family groups called tribes. Each tribe had older men who led it.

3The whole group made a promise with the king at God's house. Jehoiada said to them, "Look, here is the king's son. He will be king, just as the LORD promised about David's family.

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 shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.

NoteLong before this, God made a promise to King David. Someone from David's own family would be king. That is what "the sons of David" means here.

4Here is what you must do. You priests and Levites who start work on the Sabbath will split into three groups. One group will guard the doors.

This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;

NoteThe Sabbath was one special day each week. People rested from work and worshiped God. The priests and Levites took turns doing their jobs. A new turn started on the Sabbath day.

5One group will guard the king's palace. One group will guard the Foundation Gate. Everyone else will stand in the yards of the LORD's house.

And a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.

NoteThe Foundation Gate was one of the doorways into the temple area. Nobody today knows just where it stood.

6No one may go inside the LORD's house except the priests and the Levites who serve there. They may go in because they are set apart for God. Everyone else must stay outside and do as the LORD said.

But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.

Note"Set apart for God" is the King James word "holy." The priests washed and dressed a certain way first. That made them ready to go inside God's house.

7The Levites must stand in a circle all around the king. Each man must hold his weapon. Anyone else who comes into the house must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes."

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

8The Levites and all the men of Judah did just what Jehoiada told them. Each leader took his own men. He took the ones starting work on the Sabbath and the ones finishing. Jehoiada did not send any of the work groups home.

So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.

NoteThe priests and Levites were sorted into work groups. Each group served for a while, then went home to rest. This time Jehoiada kept every group there. That gave him many more men for the day.

9Then Jehoiada gave the army leaders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David. These had been kept in God's house.

Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God.

NoteThe King James says "bucklers." Those were small shields held in one hand. These weapons were very old. They had been kept safe at God's house since King David's time.

10He placed all the men in a circle around the king. Each man held his weapon. They stood near the altar and the temple, from one side to the other.

And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about.

NoteThe altar was a large stone table outside God's house. Gifts for God were burned on top of it. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem.

11Then they brought out the king's son. They put the crown on his head. They gave him the book of God's law. They made him king. Jehoiada and his sons poured oil on him to show he was chosen. Then they shouted, "Long live the king!"

Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.

NoteThe King James calls the book "the testimony." It was a copy of the rules God gave his people. A new king was given it to keep and obey. Pouring oil on a man's head was how kings were chosen. It showed everyone that this man was picked to rule. The King James shout is "God save the king." It means "may the king live a long time."

12Athaliah heard the people running and cheering for the king. So she went out to them at the LORD's house.

Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD:

NoteAthaliah was the boy king's own grandmother. She took the throne after his father died. She believed every one of the king's sons was gone.

13She looked and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpet players stood beside him. All the people were happy and blowing trumpets. Singers with instruments were leading the songs. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Treason! Treason!"

And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason.

NoteThe king had his own spot beside a tall stone pillar. That was where a king stood at the temple. The trumpets were long horns, blown at big moments. Tearing your clothes was how people showed shock or sadness. "Treason" means turning against your own ruler.

14Jehoiada the priest called out the army leaders. He said, "Take her out between the rows of men. Kill anyone who follows her." The priest had said she must not be killed inside the LORD's house.

Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD.

NoteThe King James says to bring her out "of the ranges." The soldiers were standing in long straight lines. She was walked out between those lines. That way no one could jump in and help her.

15So they grabbed her. She was taken to the Horse Gate near the palace. They put her to death there.

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.

NoteThe Horse Gate was a doorway where horses went in and out. It stood right beside the king's palace.

16Then Jehoiada made a promise with the king and all the people. They promised to be the LORD's people.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD’s people.

17So all the people went to the temple of Baal, a false god. They tore it down. They smashed the altars and the statues to pieces. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.

Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

NoteBaal was a god that some people prayed to. They believed he sent rain to grow their food. A temple was a house built for a god. The King James calls the statues "images." They were figures of Baal made of wood or stone.

18Jehoiada put the priests and Levites back in charge of the LORD's house. King David had picked them for this work long ago. They were to burn the gifts to the LORD, just as Moses wrote in God's law. They did it with joy and singing, the way David had planned.

Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.

NoteA burnt offering was a gift given to God. An animal was laid on the altar and burned there. Moses led God's people many years before this. God gave Moses rules, and Moses wrote them down.

19He put guards at the gates of the LORD's house. Nothing unclean was allowed to come inside.

And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.

NoteThe King James calls these guards "porters." A porter here means a doorkeeper, not a bag carrier. "Unclean" did not mean muddy or dirty. God's rules said what could come near his house. Anything else had to wait outside.

20Then he gathered the army leaders, the important men, and the rulers. All the people of the land came too. They brought the king down from the LORD's house. They went through the Upper Gate into the palace. They sat the king on his royal throne.

And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

NoteThe Upper Gate was a doorway between the temple and the palace. A throne is the special chair a king sits on. Sitting down on it showed he was truly king now.

21All the people of the land were glad. The city was calm and quiet, because Athaliah had been put to death.

And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Note"Quiet" here means safe and calm. The fighting was over, and no one was afraid.

4Later on, Joash decided to fix up the temple. The temple was the house where people worshiped the LORD.

And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD.

NoteThe temple was a large stone building in Jerusalem. It was the one place built for worshiping the LORD. It was very old by now and needed fixing.

5Joash called together the priests and the Levites, the men who helped at the temple. He said, "Go to the towns of Judah. Collect the money that all Israel gives each year. Use it to fix the house of your God. Do this quickly." But the Levites did not hurry.

And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.

NoteThe Levites were one big family group in Israel. God chose them to help the priests at the temple. Judah was the part of the land where Joash was king.

6So the king called for Jehoiada, the leading priest. He asked, "Why have you not made the Levites collect the money? Moses, the servant of the LORD, told Israel to pay it. The people agreed to it long ago, for the holy tent where God met them."

And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?

NoteThe holy tent was a special tent Israel used long before. They carried it with them and worshiped God there. Moses was the leader who brought Israel out of Egypt.

7The sons of the wicked woman Athaliah had broken into God's house. They had taken the holy things from the temple. They used them to worship the false gods called the Baals.

For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim.

NoteAthaliah was Joash's grandmother. She had ruled before him and hurt many people. The Baals were pretend gods that people nearby prayed to.