2 Chronicles 21

Chapter 21

Jehoram Succeeds Jehoshaphat in Judah

^1aThen 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.

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

³Their 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.

⁴Now when Jehoram had ¹taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself ²secure, he ^akilled all his brothers with the sword, and some of the rulers of Israel also.

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

^6aHe walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (^bfor Ahab’s daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

⁷Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made 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 ¹against the rule of Judah and set up 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 ¹against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time ²against his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord 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 led Judah astray.

¹²Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says the Lord 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, the Lord is going to strike 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 ^athe Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and ^bthe Arabs who ¹bordered the Ethiopians;

¹⁷and they came 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 the Lord smote him ^ain his bowels with an incurable sickness.

¹⁹Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in great pain. 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.