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So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah's son Joash and sneaked him away from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. So Jehoshabeath the daughter of King Jehoram, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah so she could not execute him.

He posted guards at the gates of the Lord 's temple, so no one who was ceremonially unclean in any way could enter.

So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, "Why have you not made the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord 's servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?"

So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed.

While he was speaking, Amaziah said to him, "Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!" So the prophet stopped, but added, "I know that the Lord has decided to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice."

So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other on the battlefield in Beth Shemesh of Judah.

From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord , conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him and they killed him there.

Oded, a prophet of the Lord , was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: "Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice.

So some of the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted those returning from the battle.

So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly.

Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They put the ones who couldn't walk on donkeys. They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria.

He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him. He reasoned, "Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me." But they caused him and all Israel to stumble.

He said to them: "Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors! Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean!

Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger.

King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise the Lord , using the psalms of David and Asaph the prophet. So they joyfully offered praise and bowed down and worshiped.

Hezekiah said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord . Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the Lord 's temple." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so brought burnt sacrifices.

But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.)

There was a large number of burnt sacrifices, as well as fat from the peace offerings and drink offerings that accompanied the burnt sacrifices. So the service of the Lord 's temple was reinstituted.

So they sent an edict throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people to come and observe a Passover for the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law.

Messengers delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. This royal edict read: "O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria.