2 Kings 11:5

5 And he commanded to them, and said, This is the word, that ye ought to do; the third part of you enter in (on) the sabbath day, and keep ye the watches of the king's house; (And he commanded to them, and said, This is the thing, that ye ought to do; a third part of you be on duty on the sabbath day, and keep ye watch over, or guard, the palace;)

2 Kings 11:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 11:5

And he commanded them, saying, this is the thing that ye shall
do
These were the rulers over hundreds among the priests and Levites, and which he, as high priest, could command, and whom he could convene without suspicion, being such as he had a connection with, and were unarmed men: and for the better understanding of what follows, it should be observed, that the priests, in the times of David, were divided into twenty four courses, which were by turns to serve a week in the temple; the course that came in entered when the sabbath began, and that which went out went out when it ended, and each course consisted of a thousand men: now with respect to both these courses, both that which went in and that which went out, Jehoiada gave them the following charge:

a third part of you that enter in on the sabbath;
on the beginning of it, to do duty in the temple the week following:

shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house,
which, according to some, was that part of the temple where the king was hid and brought up, supposed to be the north part of it: or rather these were set at the north gate of the temple, which led to the royal palace, lest any should rush out of that, and kill the king.

2 Kings 11:5 In-Context

3 And he was with her in the house of the Lord privily six years (And he was hid with her in the House of the Lord for six years). Forsooth Athaliah reigned upon the land six years.

4 But in the seventh year Jehoiada, the priest, sent, and took (the) chieftains upon hundreds, and (the) knights, and he brought them to him into the temple of the Lord; and covenanted with them a bond of peace (and made a covenant with them), and he made them to swear in the temple of the Lord, and showed to them the son of the king.

5 And he commanded to them, and said, This is the word, that ye ought to do; the third part of you enter in (on) the sabbath day, and keep ye the watches of the king's house; (And he commanded to them, and said, This is the thing, that ye ought to do; a third part of you be on duty on the sabbath day, and keep ye watch over, or guard, the palace;)

6 and another third part be at the gate of Sur; and the third part be at the gate that is behind the dwelling place of the makers of shields; and ye shall keep the watches of the house of Masah. (and a third part be at the Sur Gate; and a third part be at the gate that is behind the dwelling place of the shield-makers; and so ye shall keep watch over the House of the Lord behind the other guards.)

7 Forsooth two parts of you all going out in the sabbath, keep they the watches of the house of the Lord about the king. (And so the two parts of you that be off-duty on the sabbath, keep they watch over the king in the House of the Lord.)