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A letter from the prophet Elijah came to Jehoram that read, "This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: Because you haven't walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or the ways of Judah's King Asa,
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but have walked in the ways of Israel's kings and have encouraged Judah and Jerusalem's citizens to be unfaithful, just as the house of Ahab did, and because you have even murdered your own brothers, your father's family, who were better than you,
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the LORD will now strike your family, your children, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow.
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You yourself will become deathly ill with a chronic disease that will cause your intestines to fall out."
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Then the LORD made the Philistines and the Arabs, who lived near the Cushites, angry with Jehoram.
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They attacked Judah, broke down its defenses, and hauled off all the goods that were found in the royal palace, along with the king's children and wives. Only Jehoahaz, Jehoram's youngest son, was spared.
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After all this, the LORD struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease.
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For almost two years he grew steadily worse, until two days before his death, when his intestines fell out, causing him to die in horrible pain. His people didn't make a fire in his honor as they had done for his ancestors.