World English Bible · The divided kingdom
2 Kings 11
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Now when the mother of saw that her son was , she arose and destroyed all the royal . But Jehosheba, the daughter of King , sister of , took the son of , and stole him away from among the king's sons who were slain, even him and his nurse, and put them in the bedroom; and they hid him from , so that he was not slain. He was with her hidden in house six years while reigned over the land. In the seventh year sent and fetched the captains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him into house; and he made a with them, and made a with them in house, and showed them the king's son. He commanded them, saying, "This is what you must do: a third of you, who come in on the , shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house; a third of you shall be at the Sur; and a third of you at the behind the guard. So you shall keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier. The two companies of you, even all who go out on the , shall keep the watch of house around the king. You shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain. Be with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in." The captains over hundreds did according to all that the priest commanded; and they each took his men, those who were to come in on the with those who were to go out on the , and came to the priest. The priest to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been King , which were in house. The guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the and the house, around the king. Then he brought out the king's son, and put the on him, and gave him ; and they made him king and him; and they clapped their hands, and said, "Long live the king!" When heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into house; and she looked, and behold, the king stood by , as the tradition was, with the captains and the by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew . Then tore her clothes and cried, "Treason! Treason!" the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks. Kill anyone who follows her with ." For the priest said, "Don't let her be slain in house." So they seized her; and she went by of the horses' entry to the king's house, and she was slain there. made a between and the king and the people, that they should be people; also between the king and the people. All the people of the land went to the house of , and broke it down. They broke his and his in pieces thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of before the . The priest appointed officers over house. 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 house, and came by of the of the guard to the king's house. He sat on of the kings. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. They had slain with at the king's house. was seven years old when he began to reign.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.