2 Chronicles 23
1 And in the eighth year Jodae
strengthened himself, and took the captains of
hundreds, Azarias the son of Joram, and Ismael the son of Joanan, and Azarias
the son of Obed, and Maasæas the son of Adia, and Elisaphan the son of
Zacharias, with him into the house of the Lord.
2 And they went round about Juda, and
gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Juda, and heads of the families
of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 And all the congregation of Juda
made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he shewed them the
king's son, and said to them, Lo, let the king's son reign, as the Lord said
concerning the house of David. 4 Now
this is the thing which ye shall do. Let a third part
of you, even of the priests and of the Levites, enter
in on the sabbath, even into the gates of the entrances;
5 and let a third part be in the house
of the king; and another third at the middle gate: and all the people in the
courts of the Lord's house. 6 And let
not any one enter into the house of the Lord, except
the priests and the Levites, and the servants of the Levites; they shall enter
in, because they are holy: and let all the people keep the watch of the Lord.
7 And the Levites shall compass the
king round about, every man's weapon in his hand; and whoever
else goes into the house shall die: but they shall be
with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.
8 And the Levites and all Juda did
according to all that the priest Jodae commanded them, and they took each his
men from the beginning of the sabbath to the end of the sabbath, for Jodae the
priest did not dismiss the courses.
9 And Jodae gave to the men the
swords, and the shields, and the arms, which
had belonged to king David, in the house of God.
10 And he set the whole people, every
man with his arms, from the right side of the house to the left side of the
altar and the house, over against the king round about.
11 And he brought out the king's son,
and put on him the crown and the testimony, and Jodae the priest and his sons
proclaimed him king, and anointed him, and said, Long live the king!
12 And Gotholia heard the sound of
the people running, and acknowledging and praising the king: and she went in
to the king into the house of the Lord.
13 And she looked, and, behold, the
king stood in his place, and the princes and trumpets
were at the entrance, and the princes were round the king: and all the people
of the land rejoiced, and sounded the trumpets, and there were the singers
singing with instruments, and singing hymns of praise. And Gotholia rent her
robe, and cried, Ye surely are plotting against me.
14 And Jodae the priest went forth,
and Jodae the priest charged the captains of hundreds, even the captains of
the host, and said to them, Thrust her forth outside the house, and follow
her, and let her be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Let her not be
slain in the house of the Lord. 15 So
they let her go out; and she went through the
horsemen's gate of the house of the king, and they slew her there.
16 And Jodae made a covenant between
himself, and the people, and the king, that the people should be the Lord's.
17 And all the people of the land
went into the house of Baal, and tore down it and its altars, and they ground
his images to powder, and they slew Matthan the priest of Baal before his
altars. 18 And Jodae the priest
committed the works of the house of the Lord into the hand of the priests and
Levites, and he re-established the courses of the priests and Levites which
David appointed over the house of the Lord, and
he appointed them to offer whole-burnt-offerings to
the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with gladness, and with songs
by the hand of David. 19 And the
porters stood at the gates of the house of the Lord, that no one unclean in
any respect should enter in. 20 And
he took the heads of families, and the mighty men, and the chiefs of the
people, and all the people of the land, and they conducted the king into the
house of the Lord; and he went through the inner gate into the king's house,
and they seated the king on the throne of the kingdom.
21 And all the people of the land
rejoiced; and the city was quiet: and they slew Gotholia.