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2 C H RO N I C L ES 2 1
made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel,
who was very wicked.* 36 Together they built a
fleet of trading ships* at the port of Ezion-geber.
37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah
prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your work.” So
the ships met with disaster and never put out
to sea.*
Jehoram Rules in Judah
When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried
with his ancestors in the City of David.
Then his son Jehoram became the next king.
2 Jehoram’s brothers—the other sons of Jehoshaphat—were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah,
Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these
were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.*
3 Their father had given each of them valuable
gifts of silver, gold, and costly items, and also
some of Judah’s fortified towns. However, he
designated Jehoram as the next king because he
was the oldest. 4 But when Jehoram had become
solidly established as king, he killed all his
brothers and some of the other leaders of Judah.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight
years. 6 But Jehoram followed the example of the
kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab,
for he had married one of Ahab’s daughters. So
Jehoram did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.
7 But the Lord did not want to destroy David’s
dynasty, for he had made a covenant with David
and promised that his descendants would continue to rule, shining like a lamp forever.
8 During Jehoram’s reign, the Edomites revolted against Judah and crowned their own
king. 9 So Jehoram went out with his full army
and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded
him and his chariot commanders, but he went
out at night and attacked them* under cover of
darkness. 10 Even so, Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time. All this
happened because Jehoram had abandoned the
Lord, the God of his ancestors. 11 He had built
pagan shrines in the hill country of Judah and
had led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to
give themselves to pagan gods and to go astray.
12 Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram this
letter:
21
“This is what the Lord, the God of your
ancestor David, says: You have not
followed the good example of your father,
Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King
Asa of Judah. 13 Instead, you have been as
evil as the kings of Israel. You have led the
people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship
idols, just as King Ahab did in Israel. And
you have even killed your own brothers,
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men who were better than you. 14 So now
the Lord is about to strike you, your people,
your children, your wives, and all that is
yours with a heavy blow. 15 You yourself will
suffer with a severe intestinal disease that
will get worse each day until your bowels
come out.”
16 Then the Lord stirred up the Philistines
and the Arabs, who lived near the Ethiopians,*
to attack Jehoram. 17 They marched against Judah, broke down its defenses, and carried away
everything of value in the royal palace, including the king’s sons and his wives. Only his youngest son, Ahaziah,* was spared.
18 After all this, the Lord struck Jehoram with
an incurable intestinal disease. 19 The disease
grew worse and worse, and at the end of two
years it caused his bowels to come out, and he
died in agony. His people did not build a great
funeral fire to honor him as they had done for
his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight
years. No one was sorry when he died. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal
cemetery.
Ahaziah Rules in Judah
Then the people of Jerusalem made
Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, their
next king, since the marauding bands who
came with the Arabs* had killed all the older
sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as
king of Judah.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two* years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one
year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter
of King Omri. 3 Ahaziah also followed the evil
example of King Ahab’s family, for his mother
encouraged him in doing wrong. 4 He did what
was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Ahab’s family had done. They even became his advisers
after the death of his father, and they led him
to ruin.
5 Following their evil advice, Ahaziah joined
Joram,* the son of King Ahab of Israel, in his
war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramothgilead. When the Arameans* wounded Joram
in the battle, 6 he returned to Jezreel to recover
from the wounds he had received at Ramoth.*
22
20:35 Or who made him do what was wicked. 20:36 Hebrew
fleet of ships that could go to Tarshish. 20:37 Hebrew never set
sail for Tarshish. 21:2 Masoretic Text reads of Israel; also in
21:4. The author of Chronicles sees Judah as representative of
the true Israel. (Some Hebrew manuscripts, Greek and Syriac
versions, and Latin Vulgate read of Judah.) 21:9 Or he went
out and escaped. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
21:16 Hebrew the Cushites. 21:17 Hebrew Jehoahaz, a variant
spelling of Ahaziah; compare 22:1. 22:1 Or marauding
bands of Arabs. 22:2 As in some Greek manuscripts and
Syriac version (see also 2 Kgs 8:26); Hebrew reads forty-two.
22:5a Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in
22:6, 7. 22:5b As in two Hebrew manuscripts and Latin
Vulgate (see also 2 Kgs 8:28); Masoretic Text reads the archers.
22:6a Hebrew Ramah, a variant spelling of Ramoth.