all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. 7And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. 8So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. 9And Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God. 10And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right [1]side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about. 11Then they brought out the king's son, and [2]put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony, and
all the people] Not mentioned in Kings; but cp. 1 Kin. xi. 14.
7. into the house] 2 Kin. "within the ranks." Any one who should attempt to break through the ranks of the guard to get near to the king was to be killed. According to the Chronicler Jehoiada's precaution would protect the sanctity of the Temple as well as the person of the young king.
8. the Levites and all Judah] In 2 Kin. "the captains over hundreds." See notes on ver. 4.
for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses] Not in Kings. The Levites (1 Chr. xxiii. 6), the priests (ibid. xxiv. 1), and the king's army (ibid. xxvii. 1 ff.) were each divided into "courses," but it is clear from the context that courses of Levites are meant here.
9. shields] Heb. shĕlāṭīm; see note on 1 Chr. xviii. 7.
10. with his weapon] The Heb. word (shelaḥ) means a "missile weapon."
11. put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony] So LXX. and Heb. both here and in 2 Kin. xi. 12. Note that the words "gave him" are not in the Heb. What then is the meaning of "put the crown . . . the testimony"? It is supposed that by "the testimony" some document inscribed with laws, a charter binding king and people to live according to its precepts, is meant, and that this document was placed in the hands or on the head of Joash along with the crown. The wearing of an inscription or of a document on a solemn occasion, though strange to Western thought, is not alien from Eastern methods; cp. Ex. xxviii.
