And she looked, and behold, the king was standing by the pillar according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land were joyful and were blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!”
Parallel translations
- WEB and she looked, and behold, the king stood by the pillar, as the tradition was, with the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes, and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
- KJV And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.
- BSB And she looked out and saw the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”
- NKJV When she looked, there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”
- NLT When she arrived, she saw the newly crowned king standing in his place of authority by the pillar, as was the custom at times of coronation. The commanders and trumpeters were surrounding him, and people from all over the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. When Athaliah saw all this, she tore her clothes in despair and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Athaliah sees the new king standing crowned amid celebration and cries 'Treason!' Her grip on power is broken.
Overview
The king stands by the pillar in the customary royal place, surrounded by joyful people and trumpets. Athaliah's cry of treason is ironic, for she herself usurped the throne through murder. Her tearing of clothes and futile protest mark the end of her wicked rule and the vindication of God's preserved king.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 2 Chr 34:31The king stood in his place, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
- 2 Kgs 23:3The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people agreed to the covenant.
- 2 Kgs 9:23Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “This is treason, Ahaziah!”
- Rev 19:1–7After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:
- Luke 19:37As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,
- 1 Kgs 1:39–40Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live king Solomon!”
- Num 10:1–10Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
- Prov 29:2When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
- 1 Kgs 18:17–18When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
- 1 Chr 12:40Moreover those who were near to them, as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, brought bread on donkeys, on camels, on mules, and on oxen: supplies of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep in abundance; for there was joy in Israel.
- 2 Kgs 11:10–11The priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been king David’s, which were in Yahweh’s house.
- 2 Kgs 11:1–2Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal offspring.
- Gen 37:29Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
- Gen 44:13Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 11:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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