1tn Or “covenant.”

2map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

3tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada the priest, cf. v. 8) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

4tn Heb “all the people.”

5tn Heb “house.”

6tn Heb “and be with the king in his coming out and in his going out.”

7tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.

8tn The Hebrew text lists two different types of shields here. Most translations render “the large and small shields” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; NEB “King David’s spears, shields, and bucklers”).

9tn Heb “and he stationed all the people, each with his weapon in his hand, from the south shoulder of the house to the north shoulder of the house, at the altar and at the house, near the king all around.”

10tn The Hebrew word עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain (see the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 128). Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant (see HALOT 790-91 s.v.).

11tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”

12tn Heb “and Athaliah heard the sound of the people, the runners.”

13tn Heb “she came to the people.”

14tn Heb “and she saw, and behold.”

15tn Or “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”

16tn Heb “ranks.”

17tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.’”

18tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went through the entrance of the gate of the horses [into] the house of the king.” Some English versions treat the phrase “gate of the horses” as the name of the gate (“the Horse Gate”; e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

19tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and [between] all the people and [between] the king, to become a people for the Lord.”

20tn Or “tore down.”

21tn Or “images.”

22tn Heb “as it is written in.”

23tn Heb “took.”

24tn Heb “killed Athaliah with the sword.”