2 Kings 11:5

The NET Bible®

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.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and commanded them, “This is what you are to do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the king’s palace.

Hebrew Names Version
He commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Shabbat, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;

King James Version
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;

English Standard Version
And he commanded them, "This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king's house

New Century Version
He commanded them, "This is what you must do. A third of you who go on duty on the Sabbath will guard the king's palace.

Amplified Bible
He commanded them, saying, "This is the thing that you shall do: a third of you who come in [reporting for duty] on the Sabbath shall keep watch over the king's house

New American Standard Bible
And he commanded them, saying, "This is the thing that you shall do: a third of you, who come in on the Sabbath and keep watch over the king's house

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he commanded them, saying, This is it that ye must doe, The third part of you, that commeth on the Sabbath, shall warde towarde the Kings house:

Legacy Standard Bible
And he commanded them, saying, "This is the thing that you shall do: one-third of you, who come in on the sabbath and keep watch over the king's house

Contemporary English Version
and said to them: Here's what I want you to do. Three of your guard units will be on duty on the Sabbath. I want one unit to guard the palace.

Complete Jewish Bible
and gave them this instruction: "Here is what you are to do: of you who come on duty on Shabbat, a third [normally] guards the royal palace,

Darby Translation
And he commanded them saying, This is the thing which ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Jehoiada gave them a command. He said, "This is what you must do. One-third of you, from those who go on duty on the Sabbath day, must stand guard at the royal palace.

George Lamsa Translation
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you who enter in on the sabbath shall keep guard of the kings house;

Good News Translation
and gave them the following orders: "When you come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of you are to guard the palace;

Lexham English Bible
He commanded them, saying, "This is the thing which you must do: one third of you who go off duty on the Sabbath, the keepers of the guard in the house of the king,

Literal Translation
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do. A third of you shall go in on the sabbath for keepers of the watch of the king's house.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and comaunded them, and sayde: This is it that ye shall do: One thirde parte of you which enter on the Sabbath, shall kepe the watch in the kynges house,

American Standard Version
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;

Bible in Basic English
And he gave them orders, saying, This is what you are to do: the third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath and keep the watch of the king's house,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he commaunded them, saying, This is it that ye must do: One third part of you, whose duetie is to come in on the Sabbath day, shall keepe the watch of the kinges house:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he commanded them, saying: 'This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, and that keep the watch of the king's house--

King James Version (1611)
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that yee shall doe; A third part of you that enter in on the Sabbath, shall euen be keepers of the watch of the kings house:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And charged them, saying, This is the thing which ye shall do.

English Revised Version
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;

Berean Standard Bible
and commanded them, "This is what you are to do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall guard the royal palace,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he comaundide to hem, and seide, This is the word, which ye owen to do;

Young's Literal Translation
and commandeth them, saying, `This [is] the thing that ye do; The third of you [are] going in on the sabbath, and keepers of the charge of the house of the king,

Update Bible Version
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;

Webster's Bible Translation
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;

World English Bible
He commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;

New King James Version
Then he commanded them, saying, "This is what you shall do: One-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king's house,

New Living Translation
Jehoiada told them, "This is what you must do. A third of you who are on duty on the Sabbath are to guard the royal palace itself.

New Life Bible
He told them, "This is what you must do. One third of you who come in on the Day of Rest must keep watch over the king's house.

New Revised Standard
He commanded them, "This is what you are to do: one-third of you, those who go off duty on the sabbath and guard the king's house

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and commanded them, saying - This, is the thing which ye must do, - A third part of you, will be coming in on the sabbath, and keeping the watch of the house of the king;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he commanded them, saying: This is the thing that you must do.

Revised Standard Version
And he commanded them, "This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, those who come off duty on the sabbath and guard the king's house

THE MESSAGE
Then he commanded them, "These are your instructions: Those of you who come on duty on the Sabbath and guard the palace, and those of you who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard The Temple of God , are to join forces at the time of the changing of the guard and form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He commanded them, saying, "This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, who come in on the sabbath and keep watch over the king's house

Contextual Overview

⁴ In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians and the royal bodyguard. He met with them in the Lord 's temple. He made an agreement with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord 's temple. Then he showed them the king's son. ⁵ 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. ⁶ Another third of you will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. Still another third of you will be stationed at the gate behind the royal guard. You will take turns guarding the palace. ⁷ The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord 's temple and protect the king. ⁸ You must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever approaches your ranks must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes." ⁹ The officers of the units of hundreds did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ The priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David's spears and the shields that were kept in the Lord 's temple. ¹¹ 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. ¹² Jehoiada led out the king's son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. They clapped their hands and cried out, "Long live the king!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that enter: 1 Chronicles 9:25, 1 Chronicles 23:3-6, 1 Chronicles 23:32, 1 Chronicles 24:3-6, Luke 1:8, Luke 1:9

the watch: 2 Kings 11:19, 2 Kings 16:18, 1 Kings 10:5, Jeremiah 26:10, Ezekiel 44:2, Ezekiel 44:3, Ezekiel 46:2, Ezekiel 46:3

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 11:7 - go forth 2 Chronicles 23:5 - the king's house Luke 1:23 - the days

Cross-References

Genesis 11:13
And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:14
When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.

Genesis 11:23
And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:24
When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.

Genesis 18:21
that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know."

Exodus 3:8
I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Exodus 19:11
and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Exodus 19:18
Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.

Exodus 19:20
The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Psalms 11:4
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord 's throne is in heaven. His eyes watch; his eyes examine all people.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he commanded them, saying, this is the thing that ye shall do,.... These were the rulers over hundreds among the priests and Levites, and which he, as high priest, could command, and whom he could convene without suspicion, being such as he had a connection with, and were unarmed men: and for the better understanding of what follows, it should be observed, that the priests, in the times of David, were divided into twenty four courses, which were by turns to serve a week in the temple; the course that came in entered when the sabbath began, and that which went out went out when it ended, and each course consisted of a thousand men: now with respect to both these courses, both that which went in and that which went out, Jehoiada gave them the following charge:

a third part of you that enter in on the sabbath; on the beginning of it, to do duty in the temple the week following:

shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house, which, according to some, was that part of the temple where the king was hid and brought up, supposed to be the north part of it: or rather these were set at the north gate of the temple, which led to the royal palace, lest any should rush out of that, and kill the king.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Five divisions of the guard under their five captains are distinguished here. Three of the five divisions “enter in” on the Sabbath; the other two “go forth” on the Sabbath 2 Kings 11:7. By the former phrase seems to be meant the mounting guard at the royal palace (the “king’s house,” where Athaliah then was); by the latter the serving of escort to the sovereign beyond the palace bounds. Jehoiada orders that of those whose business it would be to guard the palace on the ensuing Sabbath, one company or cohort should perform that task in the ordinary way, while another should watch the gate of Sur - or better, “the gate of the foundation” 2 Chronicles 23:5 - that by which the palace was usually quitted for the temple, and a third should watch another of the palace gates, called “the gate of the guard” (see 2 Kings 11:19). The two companies whose proper business it would be to serve as the royal escort beyond the palace walls, he orders to enter the temple, and surround the person of the young king.

2 Kings 11:6

That it be not broken down - The one word in the original text of which this is a translation occurs nowhere else; and its meaning is very doubtful.

2 Kings 11:8

Within the ranges - Rather, “within the ranks.” If anyone tried to break through the soldiers’ ranks to the king, or even to disturb their order, he was to be immediately slain.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 11:5. That enter in on the Sabbath — It appears that Jehoiada chose the Sabbath day to proclaim the young king, because as that was a day of public concourse, the gathering together of the people who were in this secret would not be noticed; and it is likely that they all came unarmed, and were supplied by Jehoiada with the spears and shields which David had laid up in the temple, 2 Kings 11:10.

The priests and Levites were divided into twenty-four classes by David, and each served a week by turns in the temple, and it was on the Sabbath that they began the weekly service, all this favoured Jehoiada's design.