Second Book of Chronicles 21

¹ Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David; his son Jehoram succeeded him.

² Jehoram had six brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah; these are all the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

³ Their father had made them many gifts of silver, gold and jewels, and of fortified towns in Judah, but he bequeathed the throne to Jehoram since he was the first-born.

⁴ Jehoram, having maintained his hold over his father’s kingdom and secured his own position, put all his brothers to the sword and some officials of Israel too.

⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he came to the throne and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

⁶ He followed the example of the kings of Israel as the family of Ahab had done, having married one of Ahab’s daughters; and he did what is displeasing to Yahweh.

⁷ Yahweh however did not intend to destroy the House of David, because of the covenant he had made with David, and was faithful to the promise he had made to leave a lamp for him and his sons for ever.

⁸ In his time Edom threw off the domination of Judah and set up a king for itself.

⁹ Jehoram crossed the frontier with his commanders and all his chariots. He rose during the night and broke through the Edomites encircling him and his chariot commanders.

¹⁰ Thus Edom threw off the domination of Judah, and has remained free to the present day. Libnah threw off Jehoram’s domination at the same time. He had indeed deserted Yahweh, the God of his ancestors.

¹¹ He also set up high places in the highlands of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, and Judah to go astray.

¹² Then something written by the prophet Elijah came into his hands. It ran, ‘This is the word of Yahweh, the God of David your ancestor. “Since you have not followed the example of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah,

¹³ but the example of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the House of Ahab did, and since you have also murdered your brothers, your own family, better men than yourself,

¹⁴ Yahweh will strike you with a great calamity, your people, your descendants, your wives and all your property.

¹⁵ You yourself shall suffer dire diseases, and a disease of your bowels so severe that within two years it will make your bowels drop out.”‘

¹⁶ Yahweh roused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines, and of the Arabs bordering on the Cushites.

¹⁷ They attacked Judah, invading it and carrying off all the property they found belonging to the king’s household, including his sons and his wives; the only son left him was Ahaziah, the youngest of them.

¹⁸ And after all this, Yahweh struck him down with an incurable disease of the bowels;

¹⁹ it lasted for more than one year, and when two years were over and his last hour had come, his bowels dropped out with disease and he died in great pain. The people did not light a fire for him as they had for his father.

²⁰ He was thirty-two years old when he came to the throne and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. He passed away with no one to regret him, and they buried him in the Citadel of David, though not in the tombs of the kings.