Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
The Message Bible MSG
1 And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David: and Joram his son reigned in his stead.
1
Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the family cemetery in the City of David. Jehoram his son was the next king.
2 And he had brethren the sons of Josaphat, Azarias, and Jahiel, and Zacharias, and Azaria, and Michael, and Saphatias, all these were the sons of Josaphat king of Juda.
2
Jehoram's brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah - the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and pensions, with strong cities in Juda: but the kingdom he gave to Joram, because he was the eldest.
3
Their father had lavished them with gifts - silver, gold, and other valuables, plus the fortress cities in Judah. But Jehoram was his firstborn son and he gave him the kingdom of Judah.
4 So Joram rose up over the kingdom of his father: and when he had established himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword, and some of the princes of Israel.
4
But when Jehoram had taken over his father's kingdom and had secured his position, he killed all his brothers along with some of the government officials.
5 Joram was two and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
5
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king and ruled in Jerusalem for eight years.
6 And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had done: for his wife was a daughter of Achab, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
6
He imitated Israel's kings and married into the Ahab dynasty. God considered him an evil man.
7 But the Lord would not destroy the house of David: because of the covenant which he had made with him: and because he had promised to give a lamp to him, and to his sons for ever.
7
But despite that, because of his covenant with David, God was not yet ready to destroy the descendants of David; he had, after all, promised to keep a light burning for David and his sons.
8 In those days Edom revolted, from being subject to Juda, and made themselves a king.
8
During Jehoram's reign, Edom revolted from Judah's rule and set up their own king.
9 And Joram went over with his princes, and all his cavalry with him, and rose in the night, and defeated the Edomites who had surrounded him, and all the captains of his cavalry.
9
Jehoram responded by setting out with his officers and chariots. Edom surrounded him, but in the middle of the night he and his charioteers broke through the lines and hit Edom hard.
10 However Edom revolted, from being under the dominion of Juda unto this day: at that time Lobna also revolted, from being under his hand. For he had forsaken the Lord the God of his fathers.
10
Edom continues in revolt against Judah right up to the present. Even little Libnah revolted at that time. The evidence accumulated: Since Jehoram had abandoned God, the God of his ancestors, God was abandoning him.
11 Moreover he built also high places in the cities of Juda, and he made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and Juda to transgress.
11
He even went so far as to build pagan sacred shrines in the mountains of Judah. He brazenly led Jerusalem away from God, seducing the whole country.
12 And there was a letter brought him from Eliseus the prophet, in which it was written: Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Josaphat thy father nor in the ways of Asa king of Juda,
12
One day he got a letter from Elijah the prophet. It read, "From God, the God of your ancestor David - a message: Because you have not kept to the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and Asa your grandfather, kings of Judah,
13 But hast walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and hast made Juda and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, imitating the fornication of the house of Achab, moreover also thou hast killed thy brethren, the house of thy father, better men than thyself,
13
but have taken up with the ways of the kings of Israel in the north, leading Judah and Jerusalem away from God, going step by step down the apostate path of Ahab and his crew - why, you even killed your own brothers, all of them better men than you! -
14 Behold the Lord will strike thee with a great plague, with all thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance.
14
God is going to afflict your people, your wives, your sons, and everything you have with a terrible plague.
15 And thou shalt be sick of a very grievous disease of thy bowels, till thy vital parts come out by little and little every day.
15
And you are going to come down with a terrible disease of the colon, painful and humiliating."
16 And the Lord stirred up against Joram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who border on the Ethiopians.
16
The trouble started with an invasion. God incited the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians to attack Jehoram.
17 And they came up into the land of Juda, and wasted it, and they carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, his sons also, and his wives: so that there was no son left him but Joachaz, who was the youngest.
17
They came to the borders of Judah, forced their way in, and plundered the place - robbing the royal palace of everything in it including his wives and sons. One son, his youngest, Ahaziah, was left behind.
18 And besides all this the Lord struck him with an incurable disease in his bowels.
18
The terrible and fatal disease in his colon followed. After about two years he was totally incontinent and died writhing in pain.
19 And as day came after day, and time rolled on, two whole years passed: then after being wasted with a long consumption, so as to void his very bowels, his disease ended with his life. And he died of a most wretched illness, and the people did not make a funeral for him according to the manner of burning, as they had done for his ancestors.
19
His people didn't honor him by lighting a great bonfire, as was customary with his ancestors.
20 He was two and thirty years old when he began his reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked not rightly, and they buried him in the city of David: but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
20
He was thirty-two years old when he became king and reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. There were no tears shed when he died - it was good riddance! - and they buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.
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Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.