2 Chronicles 21; 2 Chronicles 22

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.

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.

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.

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.

5 Joram was two and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

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.

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.

8 In those days Edom revolted, from being subject to Juda, and made themselves a 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.

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.

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.

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,

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,

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.

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.

16 And the Lord stirred up against Joram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, who border on the Ethiopians.

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.

18 And besides all this the Lord struck him with an incurable disease in his bowels.

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.

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.

1 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ochozias his youngest son king in his place: for the rovers of the Arabians, who had broke in upon the camp, had killed all that were his elder brothers. So Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda reigned.

2 Ochozias was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Athalia the daughter of Amri.

3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Achab: for his mother pushed him on to do wickedly.

4 So he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Achab did: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

5 And he walked after their counsels. And he went with Joram the son of Achab king of Israel, to fight against Hazael king of Syria, at Ramoth Galaad: and the Syrians wounded Joram.

6 And he returned to be healed in Jezrahel: for he received many wounds in the foresaid battle. And Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda, went down to visit Joram the son of Achab in Jezrahel where he lay sick.

7 For it was the will of God against Ochozias that he should come to Joram: and when he was come should go out also against Jehu the son of Namsi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Achab.

8 So when Jehu was rooting out the house of Achab, he found the princes of Juda, and the sons of the brethren of Ochozias, who served him, and he slew them.

9 And he sought for Ochozias himself, and took him lying hid in Samaria: and when he was brought to him, he killed him, and they buried him: because he was the son of Josaphat, who had sought the Lord with all his heart. And there was no more hope that any one should reign of the race of Ochozias.

10 For Athalia his mother, seeing that her son was dead, rose up, and killed all the royal family of the house of Joram.

11 But Josabeth the king’s daughter took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain. And she hid him with his nurse in a bedchamber: now Josabeth that hid him, was daughter of king Joram, wife of Joiada the high priest, and sister of Ochozias, and therefore Athalia did not kill him.

12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years, during which Athalia reigned over the land.