2 Chronicles 23:14-21

23:14 Jehoiada the priest sent out the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, and ordered them, “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. 1  Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. 2  23:15 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. 3  There they executed her.

23:16 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant stipulating that he, all the people, and the king should be loyal to the Lord. 4  23:17 All the people went and demolished 5  the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols. 6  They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. 23:18 Jehoiada then assigned the duties of the Lord’s temple to the priests, the Levites whom David had assigned to the Lord’s temple. They were responsible for offering burnt sacrifices to the Lord with joy and music, according to 7  the law of Moses and the edict of David. 23:19 He posted guards at the gates of the Lord’s temple, so no one who was ceremonially unclean in any way could enter. 23:20 He summoned 8  the officers of the units of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of land, and he then led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne. 23:21 All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah. 9 

1 tn Heb “ranks.”

2 tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.’”

3 tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went through the entrance of the gate of the horses [into] the house of the king.” Some English versions treat the phrase “gate of the horses” as the name of the gate (“the Horse Gate”; e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

4 tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and [between] all the people and [between] the king, to become a people for the Lord.”

5 tn Or “tore down.”

6 tn Or “images.”

7 tn Heb “as it is written in.”

8 tn Heb “took.”

9 tn Heb “killed Athaliah with the sword.”