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C hronicles – E Z R A – N E H E M I A H
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in all the towns to come to Jerusalem. They all gathered at the Temple of
God, where they made a solemn pact with Joash, the young king.
Jehoiada said to them, “Here is the king’s son! The time has come for
him to reign! The Lord has promised that a descendant of David will be
our king. This is what you must do. When you priests and Levites come on
duty on the Sabbath, a third of you will serve as gatekeepers. Another third
will go over to the royal palace, and the final third will be at the Foundation
Gate. Everyone else should stay in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
Remember, only the priests and Levites on duty may enter the Temple of
the Lord, for they are set apart as holy. The rest of the people must obey
the Lord’s instructions and stay outside. You Levites, form a bodyguard
around the king and keep your weapons in hand. Kill anyone who tries to
enter the Temple. Stay with the king wherever he goes.”
So the Levites and all the people of Judah did everything as Jehoiada
the priest ordered. The commanders took charge of the men reporting for
duty that Sabbath, as well as those who were going off duty. Jehoiada the
priest did not let anyone go home after their shift ended. Then Jehoiada
supplied the commanders with the spears and the large and small shields
that had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple of
God. He stationed all the people around the king, with their weapons
ready. They formed a line from the south side of the Temple around to
the north side and all around the altar.
Then Jehoiada and his sons brought out Joash, the king’s son, placed
the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God’s laws. They
anointed him and proclaimed him king, and everyone shouted, “Long live
the king!”
When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and the shouts of
praise to the king, she hurried to the Lord’s Temple to see what was happening. When she arrived, she saw the newly crowned king standing in his
place of authority by the pillar at the Temple entrance. The commanders
and trumpeters were surrounding him, and people from all over the land
were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Singers with musical instruments
were leading the people in a great celebration. When Athal iah saw all this,
she tore her clothes in despair and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders who were in charge
of the troops, “Take her to the soldiers in front of the Temple, and kill
anyone who tries to rescue her.” For the priest had said, “She must not
be killed in the Temple of the Lord.” So they seized her and led her out
to the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, and they killed
her there.
Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the
people that they would be the Lord’s people. And all the people went
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