He ordered them, “This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace.

The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king.

The royal bodyguard took their stations, 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.

All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah with the sword in the royal palace.

Then Elisha told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.” He did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands.

Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria.

He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria.

They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.

The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria.

This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand!

The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders:

Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king.

The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.”

But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him.

He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.

He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died.

David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point?

From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were supervised by Asaph, who prophesied under the king’s supervision.