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king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, "God save the king!" And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, "Treason, Treason!" But Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers of the host, and said unto them: "Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword." For the priest had said: "Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord." And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people; between the king also and the people. And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

And the priest appointed guards over the house of the Lord. And he took the captains over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet. Thus they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house.

Joash Repairs the Temple (2 Kings xii. 1-16). Seven years. old was Joash when he began to reign. In the seventh year of Jehu Joash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. And

1 the testimony. The book of the Law. The word should probably be read 'the bracelets' or 'the ornaments' which were part of the emblems of royalty.

Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

And Joash said to the priests: "All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the Lord,' let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found." But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Joash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. Then king Joash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them: "Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house." And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house.

But 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 cometh into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the Lord, and to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. Howbeit there were not made for the house of the Lord bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord: but they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the Lord.

1 The three sources of revenue appear to be: (1) the poll tax for the temple service; (2) the ransom-money for persons consecrated to God (Lev. xxvii.); (3) free-will offerings. According to the Chronicler the chief source on this occasion was the half-shekel tax which Moses required of every Israelite for maintaining the Tent of the Testimony (Ex. xxx. 11-16).

Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hard they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen for they dealt faithfully. The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the Lord: it was the priests'.

The Decline of Joash (2 Chron. xxiv. 17–22; 2 Kings xii. 17– 21). Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served the asherim and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them but they would not give ear.

And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them: "Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you." And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said: "The Lord look upon it, and require it."

Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Joash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Joram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.1

And 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? And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried

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1 The Chronicler represents Hazael as inflicting a heavy defeat upon Judah before securing this spoil.

2 The Chronicler makes the assassination of Joash an act of revenge for Zechariah's death.

him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Amaziah (2 Kings xvi. 1-7, 17-20). In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses,1 wherein the Lord commanded, saying: "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin."

He slew of Edom in the Valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Sela by storm, and named it Joktheel to this day.

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[For Amaziah's disastrous war with Jehoash king of Israel, see pp. 374, 375.]

And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. And they brought him on horses; and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.

Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi.). Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. Sixteen years old was

1 Deut. xxiv. 16.

2 Sela. The Rock.' The common identification of it with the rock-city Petra, the capital of Edom, rests on doubtful grounds.

Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

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And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim. And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly. Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry. Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand and six hundred. And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones. And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men: and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him: "It apper