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¹ AND in the seventh year Jehoiadah strengthened himself and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeruham and Ishmael the son of Johanan and Azariah the son of Obed and Shemiah the son of Ido and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, and they made a covenant together.² And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.³ And all the congregation made a covenant in the presence of the king in the house of the LORD. And Jehoiadah said to them. Behold, the kings son shall reign over you, as the LORD has spoken to David his servant.⁴ This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you who enter the temple on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites and of the porters shall be on guard;⁵ And a third part shall be at the kings house; and a third part at the cooks gate: and all the people shall be on guard in the court of the house of the LORD.⁶ But let no one enter the house of the LORD except the priests and the Levites; they shall enter, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep watch over the house of the LORD.⁷ And the Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else enters the inner house shall be put to death; but you be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.⁸ So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiadah the priest had commanded, and every man took his men who were to keep watch on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiadah the priest had dismissed them from their duties.⁹ Moreover Jehoiadah the priest delivered spears and bucklers and shields to the captains of hundreds that had been King Davids, which were in the house of the LORD.¹⁰ And all the people stood up, 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, and by the king round about.¹¹ Then they brought out the kings son and put the crown on his head, and gave him the sceptre and made him king. And Jehoiadah and his sons anointed him and said, Long live the king!

¹² Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people rejoicing and praising the LORD, she came to the king into the house of the LORD;¹³ And she looked, and, behold, the king stood by the pillar according to the rite of the kings, and the people were sounding with curved and straight trumpets before the king; and all the people were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers accompanied with instruments of music. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said, Treason! Treason!¹⁴ Then Jehoiadah the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were set over the army and said to them, Take her out of the ranks, and whosoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Do not slay her in the house of the LORD.¹⁵ Then they made a passage for her, and she went into the entrance of the horse gate, and she was put to death there.¹⁶ And Jehoiadah made a covenant between himself and all the people, and between himself and the king, that they should be the LORDS people.¹⁷ Then all the people went to the house of Baal and demolished it, and broke his altars and his images in pieces, and slew the priest of Baal before the altar.¹⁸ Also Jehoiadah appointed officers in the house of the LORD, and the priests and the Levites, whom David had divided into groups, to be in charge of the house of the LORD, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.¹⁹ And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD SO that no one who was unclean in anything should enter in.²⁰ And he took the captains of hundreds and the governors of the people and all the people of the land, and they came through the high gate of the kings house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.²¹ And all the people of the land rejoiced, sounding with trumpets, after they had slain Athaliah with the sword.