1 As soon as King Ahaziah's mother Athaliah learnt of her son's murder, she gave orders for all the members of the royal family to be killed.
2 Only Ahaziah's son Joash escaped. He was about to be killed with the others, but was rescued by his aunt Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's half-sister. She took him and his nurse into a bedroom in the Temple and hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed.
3 For six years Jehosheba took care of the boy and kept him hidden in the Temple, while Athaliah ruled as queen.
4 But in the seventh year Jehoiada the priest sent for the officers in charge of the royal bodyguard and of the palace guards, and told them to come to the Temple, where he made them agree under oath to what he planned to do. He showed them King Ahaziah's son Joash
5 and gave them the following orders: “When you come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of you are to guard the palace;
6 another third are to stand guard at the Sur Gate, and the other third are to stand guard at the gate behind the other guards.