22The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king in place of Jehoram. Ahaziah was Jehoram’s youngest son. Robbers had come with the Arabs into Jehoram’s camp. The robbers had killed all of his older sons. So Ahaziah, the king of Judah, began to rule. He was the son of Jehoram.

²Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri.

³Ahaziah also followed the ways of the royal family of Ahab. That’s because Ahaziah’s mother gave him bad advice. She told him to do what was wrong. ⁴So he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as the family of Ahab had done.

After Ahaziah’s father died, the members of Ahab’s family became his advisers. That’s what destroyed him. ⁵He also followed their advice when he joined forces with Joram, the king of Israel. They went to war against Hazael at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was the son of Ahab. Hazael was king of Aram. The soldiers of Aram wounded Joram. ⁶So he returned to Jezreel to give his wounds time to heal. His enemies had wounded him at Ramoth in his battle against Hazael, the king of Aram.

Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, went down to Jezreel. He went there to see Joram. That’s because Joram had been wounded. Ahaziah was king of Judah. Joram was the son of Ahab.

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