May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; ¹  behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he ²  – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

So Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and sneaked ¹  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. ²  So he was hidden from Athaliah and escaped execution. ³ 

“But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally ¹  so that he dies,

But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled,

from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim,

Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying, ‘Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death ¹  of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.’ They want to extinguish my remaining coal, ²  leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.”

So Jehoshabeath, ¹  the daughter of King Jehoram, ²  took Ahaziah’s son Joash and sneaked him away ³  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.

They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.

“If ¹  I cry out, ²  ‘Violence!’ ³  I receive no answer; ⁴  I cry for help, but there is no justice.

Men ¹  move boundary stones; they seize the flock and pasture them. ² 

if I have eaten its produce without paying, ¹  or caused the death ²  of its owners, ³ 

You destroy ¹  liars; ²  the Lord despises ³  violent and deceitful people. ⁴ 

Protect me from ¹  the wicked men who attack ²  me, my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. ³ 

Do not sweep me away ¹  with sinners, or execute me along with violent people, ² 

He says, ¹  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked? ²  (Selah)

He sent hail along with the rain; ¹  there was lightning in their land. ² 

For the waywardness ¹  of the simpletons will kill ²  them, and the careless ease ³  of fools will destroy them.

The words of the wicked lie in wait ¹  to shed innocent blood, ²  but the words ³  of the upright will deliver them.

The sluggard says, “There is a lion ¹  outside! I will be killed in the middle of the streets!” ² 

When ¹  a sentence ²  is not executed ³  at once against a crime, ⁴  the human heart ⁵  is encouraged to do evil. ⁶