And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

And 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.

And let the Levites be round about the king, every man with his arms; (and if any other come into the temple, let him be slain;) and let them be with the king, both coming in, and going out.

And the Levites shall encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that comes into the house shall be put to death; and ye shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.

And the Levites shall encompass the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

and the Levites have compassed the king round about, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who hath gone in unto the house is put to death; and be ye with the king in his coming in and in his going out.'

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever else comes into the house, he shall be put to death: but be you with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.

And the Levites are to make a circle round the king, every man being armed; and any man who comes into the house is to be put to death; you are to keep with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.

Then let the Levites encircle the king, each one having his weapons. And if anyone else will have entered into the temple, let him be slain. And may they be with the king, both entering and departing."

Compare 2-Kings 11:8, 2-Kings 11:11. The soldiers and the Levites in the temple were probably intermixed in about equal proportions.

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever [else] cometh (d) into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
(d) Meaning to make any tumult, or to hinder their enterprise.

"And the Levites shall compass the king round about, each with his weapons in his hand." The Levites are the bodies of guards mentioned in 2-Chronicles 23:4, 2-Chronicles 23:5. If we keep that in view, then the following words, "every one who cometh into the house shall be put to death," say the same as the words, "every one who cometh within the ranks" (2-Kings 11:8). A contradiction arises only if we misinterpret הקּיפוּ, and understand it of the forming of a circle around the king; whereas הקּיפוּ, like הקּפתּם (Kings), is to be understood, according to the context, of the setting of the guards both at the temple gate and in the courts, so that whoever entered the court of the temple came within the ranks of the guards thus placed.