Apr 18 - 2 Kings 11-13
2 Kings
1Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family.2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.3And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land.4But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the LORD. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the LORD, and he showed them the king's son.5And 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 house6(another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.7And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the LORD on behalf of the king,8shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in."9The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.10And the priest gave to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of the LORD.11And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king.12Then he brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, "Long live the king!"13When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the LORD to the people.14And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, "Treason! Treason!"15Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, "Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest said, "Let her not be put to death in the house of the LORD."16So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses' entrance to the king's house, and there she was put to death.17And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and people, that they should be the LORD's people, and also between the king and the people.18Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the LORD.19And he took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, marching through the gate of the guards to the king's house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings.20So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the king's house.21Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.
1In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.2And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.3Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.4Jehoash said to the priests, "All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the LORD, the money for which each man is assessed--the money from the assessment of persons--and the money that a man's heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD,5let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered."6But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house.7Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, "Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house."8So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.9Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the LORD. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.10And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD.11Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the LORD,12and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the LORD, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house.13But there were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the LORD,14for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the LORD with it.15And they did not ask an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly.16The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.17At that time Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it. But when Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem,18Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred gifts that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred gifts, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent these to Hazael king of Syria. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.19Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?20His servants arose and made a conspiracy and struck down Joash in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla.21It was Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.
1In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.2He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.3And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael.4Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.5(Therefore the LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.6Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.)7For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?9So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.10In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.11He also did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them.12Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?13So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.14Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"15And Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and arrows." So he took a bow and arrows.16Then he said to the king of Israel, "Draw the bow," and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands.17And he said, "Open the window eastward," and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. And he said, "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them."18And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped.19Then the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times."20So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.21And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.22Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.23But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.24When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place.25Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.