2 Chronicles 23:9-21

23:9 Jehoiada the priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and shields ¹  that were kept in God’s temple. 23:10 He placed the men at their posts, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. ²  23:11 Jehoiada and his sons led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. ³  They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. ⁴  They declared, “Long live the king!”

23:12 When Athaliah heard the royal guard ⁵  shouting and praising the king, she joined the crowd ⁶  at the Lord’s temple. 23:13 Then she saw ⁷  the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters stood beside the king and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets, and the musicians with various instruments were leading the celebration. Athaliah tore her clothes and yelled, “Treason! Treason!” ⁸  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. ⁹  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. ¹⁰  23:15 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. ¹¹  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. ¹²  23:17 All the people went and demolished ¹³  the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols. ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷ 

[23:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text lists two different types of shields here. Most translations render “the large and small shields” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; NEB “King David’s spears, shields, and bucklers”).

[23:10]  ² tn Heb “and he stationed all the people, each with his weapon in his hand, from the south shoulder of the house to the north shoulder of the house, at the altar and at the house, near the king all around.”

[23:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew word עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain (see the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 128). Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant (see HALOT 790-91 s.v.).

[23:11]  ⁴ tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”

[23:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Athaliah heard the sound of the people, the runners.”

[23:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “she came to the people.”

[23:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and she saw, and behold.”

[23:13]  ⁸ tn Or “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

[23:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “ranks.”

[23:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.’”

[23:15]  ¹¹ 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).

[23:16]  ¹² 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.”

[23:17]  ¹³ tn Or “tore down.”

[23:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “images.”

[23:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “as it is written in.”

[23:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “took.”

[23:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “killed Athaliah with the sword.”