And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the band of men who had come with the Arabs to the camp had murdered all the older sons. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned. Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor for doing wickedness. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh as the house of Ahab had done, for they were his counselors to his destruction after the death of his father. He also walked in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram. And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds he had suffered at Ramah, when he made war against Hazael king of Aram. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezreel for he was sick.

But the downfall of Ahaziah was from God, and intended to come to Joram. And when he came, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. And it happened that when Jehu was judging the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah who ministered to Ahaziah, and he killed them. And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, "He is the descendant of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart." And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over the kingdom.

Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and murdered all the royal descendants of the house of Judah. But Jehosheba the daughter of the king took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and kidnapped him away from the sons of the king who were to be put to death. And she put him and his nurse in a private bedroom. So Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from before Athaliah so that she did not put him to death. And he was hidden with them in the house of God six years, but Athaliah reigned over the land.

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took with him into a covenant relationship the commanders of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zicri. And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, "Behold, the son of the king shall reign as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David. This is the thing that you must do: one third of you priests and Levites coming off duty on the Sabbath shall be gatekeepers at the entrances, and one third at the house of the king, and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people shall be in the courtyards of the house of Yahweh. Let no one enter into the house of Yahweh except the priests and the ministering Levites. They themselves may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the requirements of Yahweh. And the Levites shall surround the king all around, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever comes into the house shall be put to death. You shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out."

And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they each took his men who were coming off duty on the Sabbath with the ones going out to duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the working groups. And Jehoiada the priest gave the spears and small shields that had belonged to King David that were in the house of God to the commanders of hundreds. And he appointed all the people, each with his weapon in his hand from the south side of the house to the north side of the house around the altar and the house. Then they brought out the son of the king and set upon him the crown and gave him the statute and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, "Long live the king!"

When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people at the house of Yahweh. And she looked and, behold, the king was standing by his column at the entrance, and the commanders and trumpeters beside the king, along with all the people of the land, rejoicing and blowing with trumpets, and the singers with the instruments of song leading the praise. And Athaliah tore her garments and cried, "Conspiracy! Conspiracy!" Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds appointed over the troops, and he said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever goes after her shall be put to death with the sword." For the priest had said, "You must not kill her in the house of Yahweh." And they laid hands on her, and she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the house of the king, and they killed her there.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be Yahweh’s people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down. And they smashed his altars and his images, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And Jehoiada placed appointees at the house of Yahweh under the hand of the Levitical priests whom David had allotted to the house of Yahweh to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh as was written in the law of Moses, with joy and with song, according to the order of David. And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of Yahweh so that no person unclean with respect to any matter could enter. And he took the commanders of hundreds, the noblemen, the governors over the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of Yahweh. And they came through the upper gate to the house of the king, and they set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword.

Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, so she prepared to destroy all of the offspring of the royal family. But Jehosheba the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah took Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, and she stole him from among the sons of the king who were being put to death, putting him and his nurse in the inner bedroom. So they hid him from the presence of Athaliah, and he was not killed. He remained with her in the temple of Yahweh, hidden for six years while Athaliah was reigning over the land.

But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the commanders of the hundreds of the Carites and the runners, and he brought them to himself to the temple of Yahweh. Then he made a covenant with them and made them swear in the house of Yahweh and showed them the son of the king. He commanded them, saying, "This is the thing which you must do: one third of you who go off duty on the Sabbath, the keepers of the guard in the house of the king, and another third at the gate of Sur, and a third at the gate behind the runners, shall guard the post of the palace alternately. Two of the units among you, all who go on duty on the Sabbath, guard the post of the temple of Yahweh for the king. You must surround the king all about, each with his weapon in his hand; whoever comes to the ranks must be killed. Be with the king wherever he goes."

So the commanders of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and each took his men who went off duty on the Sabbath and those who came on duty on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest. Then the priest gave to the commanders of the hundreds spears and small round shields which were King David’s, which were in the temple of Yahweh. So the royal runners stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the side of the temple to the south up to the side of the temple on the north, around the altar and around the temple, about the king all around. Then he brought out the son of the king, put the crown on him with the testimony, and they made him king, anointed him, clapped their hands, and said, "Long live the king!"

When Athaliah heard the sound of the runners of the people, she came to the people at the temple of Yahweh. She looked, and there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing on the trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and she called, "Treason, treason!" Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of the hundreds, the appointed of the army, and he said to them, "Bring her out to the house of the ranks! The one coming after her should kill her with the sword," for the priest had said, "Let her not be killed in the temple of Yahweh." So they grabbed her as she went by the entranceway of the horses to the palace of the king, and she was killed there. Then Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that the people should be as a people for Yahweh, and also a covenant between the king and the people. Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, and its altars and its images they broke completely into pieces. Mattan the priest of Baal they killed in front of the altars. Then the priest put guards over the house of Yahweh. He took the commanders of the hundreds and the Carites and the runners and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the temple of Yahweh. And they marched by the way of the runner’s gate to the palace of the king, and he sat on the throne of the kings. All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city rested; for Athaliah had been killed with the sword in the palace of the king.

Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.

A song of ascents. Of David.

And when he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. And behold, a leper approached and worshiped him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean." And extending his hand he touched him, saying, "I am willing, be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

Now when he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him, appealing to him and saying, "Lord, my slave is lying paralyzed in my house, terribly tormented!" And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." And the centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed. For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it."

Now when Jesus heard this, he was astonished, and said to those who were following him, "Truly I say to you, I have found such great faith with no one in Israel. But I say to you that many will come from east and west and be seated at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you." And the slave was healed at that hour.

And when Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down and suffering with a fever. And he touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.

Now when it was evening, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he expelled the spirits with a word. And he healed all those who were sick, in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

Now when Jesus saw many crowds around him, he gave orders to depart to the other side. And a scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!" And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." And another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead!"

And as he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being inundated by the waves, but he himself was asleep. And they came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them, "Why are you fearful, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. And the men were astonished, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

And when he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from among the tombs met him, very violent, so that no one was able to pass by along that road. And behold, they cried out, saying, "What do you have to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Now a long way from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons implored him, saying, "If you are going to expel us, send us into the herd of pigs." And he said to them, "Go!" So they departed and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water. Now the herdsmen fled and went into the town and reported everything, including the things concerning the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they implored him that he would depart from their region.