1. Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada having been strengthened, he took the centurions, namely, Azariah, the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, and also Azariah, the son of Obed, and Maaseiah, the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri, and he formed a pact with them.
2. And traveling through Judah, they gathered together the Levites from all of the cities of Judah, and the leaders of the families of Israel, and they went to Jerusalem.
3. Then the entire multitude formed a pact with the king, in the house of God. And Jehoiada said to them: "Behold, the son of the king shall reign, just as the Lord has said concerning the sons of David.
4. Therefore, this is the word that you shall do:
5. One third part of you who arrive on the Sabbath, priests, and Levites, and porters, shall be at the gates. Truly, one third part shall be at the house of the king. And one third shall be at the gate which is called the Foundation. Yet truly, let all the remainder of the common people be in the courts of the house of the Lord.
6. Let no one else enter into the house of the Lord, except the priests, and those from the Levites who are ministering. These alone may enter, for they have been sanctified. And let all the remainder of the common people observe the watches of the Lord.