2 Chronicles 21

CHAPTER 21

Jehoram Reigns over Judah

^1aAnd Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son became king in his place.

²Now he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, ¹Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king ^aof Israel.

³And their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and precious things, ^awith fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

⁴So Jehoram arose over the kingdom of his father and strengthened himself, and he ^akilled all his brothers with the sword, and some of the commanders of Israel also.

^5aJehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

^6aAnd he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, ^bfor Ahab’s daughter was his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh.

⁷However, Yahweh was not willing to make the house of David a ruin because of the covenant which He had cut with David, ^aand since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

Revolt Against Judah

⁸In his days ^aEdom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves.

⁹Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck down the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots.

¹⁰So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time from under his hand, because he had forsaken Yahweh, the God of his fathers.

¹¹Moreover, ^ahe made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^bto play the harlot and drove Judah astray.

¹²Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, ‘Because ^ayou have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father ^band the ways of Asa king of Judah,

¹³but ^ahave walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot ^bas the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you ^chave also killed your brothers, ¹your own family, who were better than you,

¹⁴behold, Yahweh is going to smite your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a great ¹calamity;

¹⁵and ^ayou will suffer ¹severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’”

¹⁶Then ^aYahweh stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and ^bthe Arabs who ¹bordered the Ethiopians;

¹⁷and they went up against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except ^1aJehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

¹⁸So after all this Yahweh smote him ^ain his bowels with an incurable sickness.

¹⁹Now it happened in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died with this greatly painful disease. And his people made no fire for him like ^athe fire for his fathers.

²⁰He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years; and he departed ^1awith no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, ^bbut not in the tombs of the kings.