2 Chronicles 21

1Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place.

2Jehoram had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

3Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

4When Jehoram had taken over his father’s kingdom and made himself secure, he killed all his brothers with the sword, along with some of the officials of Israel.

5Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

6He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh.

7Yet Yahweh was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant he had made with David and because he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendants for all time.

8In his days Edom rebelled against Judah’s rule and set up a king of their own.

9So Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. He got up at night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the commanders of the chariots.

10So Edom has been in rebellion against Judah’s rule to this day. At that same time Libnah also rebelled against his rule, because he had forsaken Yahweh, the God of his ancestors.

11He also made high places in the hill country of Judah, led the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, and led Judah astray.

12Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet: “This is what Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David, says: Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

13but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, as the house of Ahab did, and because you have also killed your brothers, your own father’s family, who were better than you,

14Yahweh is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow.

15And you yourself will suffer many illnesses, with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day after day.”

16Yahweh stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites.

17They came up against Judah, broke into it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, along with his sons and his wives. Not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

18After all this, Yahweh struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.

19In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of his disease, and he died in terrible pain. His people did not make a fire in his honor like the fires for his ancestors.

20He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He passed away with no one sorry to see him go, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.