2 Kings 11

1 When Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord] the mother [a female parent or maternal figure] of Ahaziah [Jehovah holds or sustains] saw [to perceive or look after] that her son [a descendant or offspring] was dead [to die, either literally or as a punishment], she proceeded [to rise or stand up, as in taking action] to annihilate [to destroy or cause to perish] all [everything, the entire group] the royal [related to a king or kingdom] heirs [seed or offspring, those with a claim to the throne]. word study 2 But Jehosheba [sister of Ahaziah, and wife of the high priest Jehoiada] daughter of King Joram, the sister [and half-sister] of Ahaziah, took Joash [given by the Lord, a son of Ahaziah] son of Ahaziah and stole [secretly took, rescued] him away from among the sons [descendants, princes] of the king who were being murdered [put to death, slain]. She put him and his nurse [the woman who took care of him, his caretaker] in a bedroom [a private chamber, the bedchamber] to hide [conceal, protect] him from Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord, a queen of Judah], and he was not killed [did not die, was not slain]. word study 3 And Joash remained [hid in secret, concealed] hidden with his nurse [caretaker, guardian] in the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the divine Ruler] for six [a period of completion, maturity] years while Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord, one who suffers with God] ruled [reigned, exercised dominion] the land [earth, territory, region]. word study 4 Then in the seventh [seventh position, an ordinal number] year, Jehoiada [Jehovah knows, a high priest] sent for the commanders [rulers, leaders] of hundreds [a group of one hundred], the Carites [a special bodyguard, foreign soldiers], and the guards [those who watch, protect], and had them brought into the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. There he made a covenant [promise, agreement] with them and put them under oath [to swear, make a vow]. He showed them the king’s [royal, related to a king] son [a descendant, male child] word study 5 and commanded [gave orders, instructed] them, “This [the following instruction] is what you are to do: A third [one of three parts] of you who come [enter, go in] on duty on the Sabbath [day of rest, seventh day] shall guard [watch, keep safe] the royal [king’s, sovereign’s] palace [house, dwelling place], word study 6 a third [one of three groups] shall be at the gate [entrance, doorway] of Sur [a specific temple gate], and a third [one of three groups] at the gate [door, entrance] behind [after, in the rear of] the guards [watchmen, protectors]. You are to take turns [alternately, in succession] guarding [watching, protecting] the temple [house, dwelling place]— word study 7 the two divisions [companies] that would go off duty on the Sabbath [day of rest, seventh day] are to guard [keep watch, protect] the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] for the king [ruler, monarch]. word study 8 You must surround [compass, encircle] the king [royal person, monarch] with weapons [articles, utensils] in hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share], and anyone who approaches [comes near, enters] the ranks [rows, lines] must be put to death [slain, killed]. You must stay close [be with, accompany] to the king [royal person] wherever he goes [comes out, goes in].” word study 9 So the commanders [rulers, captains] of hundreds did everything that Jehoiada [Jehovah knows, the high priest] the priest [one who serves God and leads worship] had ordered [commanded, given charge]. Each of them took his men—those coming [entering, approaching] on duty on the Sabbath [a day of rest, a day of worship] and those going off [leaving, departing] duty—and came to Jehoiada [the one who knows God] the priest [the spiritual leader]. word study 10 Then the priest [minister of God, spiritual leader] gave to the commanders [captains, rulers] of hundreds [groups of one hundred, military units] the spears [lance, thrusting weapon] and shields [protective devices, defenses] of King David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] from the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 11 And the guards [armed men, runners] stood [in a strong sense, firmly] with weapons [instruments of war, articles] in hand [open hand] surrounding [encompassing, around] the king [royal person, ruler] by the altar [place of sacrifice] and the temple [dwelling place, house of God], from the south side [right side, southern direction] to the north side [left side, northern direction] of the temple [house, place of worship]. word study 12 Then Jehoiada brought out the king’s son [the royal heir, Joash], put the crown on him, presented him with the Testimony [God’s laws and instructions], and proclaimed him king [to reign, rule as a monarch]. They anointed [set apart, consecrated] him, and the people clapped their hands [in celebration, applause] and declared, “Long live [may the king have a long, prosperous life] the king [the monarch, ruler]!” word study 13 When Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord] heard the noise [voice, sound] from the guards [runners, watchmen] and the people [nation, crowd], she went out [came, approached] to the people [Amaw, a multitude] in the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 14 And she looked out [saw, gazed] and saw the king [monarch, ruler] standing by the pillar [column, support], according to the custom [tradition, manner]. The officers [captains, leaders] and trumpeters [those who blow the trumpet] were beside the king, and all [every, the whole] the people of the land [nation, territory] were rejoicing [glad, celebrating] and blowing [sounding, trumpeting] trumpets. Then Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord] tore [rent, ripped] her clothes [garments, robes] and screamed [cried out, shouted], “Treason [conspiracy, rebellion]! Treason [unlawful alliance, betrayal]!” word study 15 And Jehoiada [the high priest, spiritual leader] the priest [one who serves God and leads others in worship] ordered the commanders [rulers, captains] of hundreds [units of one hundred soldiers] in charge of the army [the military force], “Bring her out [have her forth, take her away] between the ranks [lines of soldiers, rows], and put to the sword [kill, slay] anyone who follows [goes after, pursues] her.” For the priest [the spiritual leader] had said, “She must not [let her not, shall not] be put to death [killed, slain] in the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God].” word study 16 So they seized Athaliah [laid hands on her, grabbed hold of her] as she reached the horses’ [chariot horses, royal horses] entrance [way of entering, gateway] to the palace grounds [king’s house, royal dwelling], and there [in that place, at that location] she was put to death [slain, killed, executed]. word study 17 Then Jehoiada made a [solemn, binding] covenant [agreement, promise] between the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s [faithful, obedient] people. He also made a covenant [treaty, alliance] between the king and the people [nation, community]. word study 18 So all [every single one] the people [nation, community] of the land [earth, territory] went to the temple [house, place of worship] of Baal [the Phoenician deity, false god] and tore it down [completely destroyed, demolished]. They smashed [broke into pieces, shattered] the altars [places of sacrifice, worship] and idols [images, false representations] to pieces, and they killed [slew, put to death] Mattan the priest [spiritual leader, minister] of Baal [the Phoenician deity, false god] in front of [before, in the presence of] the altars [places of sacrifice, worship]. And Jehoiada the priest [spiritual leader, minister] posted [appointed, set] guards [watchmen, protectors] for the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 19 He took with him the commanders [rulers, captains] of hundreds, the Carites [special bodyguards], the guards [runners, royal protectors], and all [every single one] the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] and entered the royal palace by way of the Gate [entrance, doorway] of the Guards [runners, protectors]. Then Joash took his seat [sat, dwelt] on the royal throne [seat of power, authority], word study 20 and all [the entire nation] the people of the land [the territory, the earth] rejoiced [were glad, celebrated]. And the city [the town, the settlement] was quiet [at peace, still], because Athaliah [afflicted of the Lord] had been put to the sword [killed with a cutting instrument] at the royal [king’s] palace [house, dwelling place]. word study 21 Joash was seven years old [young, a child] when he became king [reigned, ascended to the throne]. word study