2 Chronicles 21
King James Version
21 Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
2 And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.
4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
5 Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.
7 Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.
8 In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king.
9 Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots.
10 So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers.
11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.
12 And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
13 But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself:
14 Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:
15 And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
16 Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians:
17 And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18 And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
19 And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
20 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
2 Chronicles 21
New King James Version
Jehoram Reigns in Judah(A)
21 And (B)Jehoshaphat [a]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.
4 Now when Jehoram [b]was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.
5 (C)Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of (D)Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 7 Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the (E)covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his (F)sons forever.
8 (G)In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. 11 Moreover he made [c]high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to (H)commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.
12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,
Thus says the Lord God of your father David:
Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have (I)made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to (J)play the harlot like the (K)harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have (L)killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very sick with a (M)disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.
16 Moreover the (N)Lord (O)stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the (P)Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. 17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also (Q)his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except [d]Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18 After all this the Lord struck him (R)in his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no [e]burning for him, like (S)the burning for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 21:1 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Chronicles 21:4 Lit. arose
- 2 Chronicles 21:11 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 21:17 Ahaziah or Azariah, 2 Chr. 22:1
- 2 Chronicles 21:19 Burning of spices
2 Chronicles 21
Contemporary English Version
21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.
King Jehoram of Judah
(2 Kings 8.16-24)
2 King Jehoshaphat had seven sons: Jehoram, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. 3 Jehoshaphat gave each of them silver and gold, as well as other valuable gifts. He also put them in charge of the fortified cities in Judah, but he had chosen his oldest son Jehoram to succeed him as king.
4 After Jehoram had taken control of Judah, he had his brothers killed, as well as some of the nation's leaders. 5 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years from Jerusalem.
6 Jehoram married Ahab's daughter and followed the sinful example of Ahab's family and the other kings of Israel. He disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong, 7 (A) but because the Lord had made a solemn promise to King David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah, he refused to wipe out David's descendants.
8 (B) While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. 9 Jehoram, his officers, and his cavalry marched to Edom, where the Edomite army surrounded them. He escaped during the night, 10 but Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah[a] rebelled at that time.
Those things happened because Jehoram had turned away from the Lord, the God his ancestors had worshiped. 11 Jehoram even built local shrines[b] in the hills of Judah and let the people sin against the Lord by worshiping foreign gods.
12 One day, Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet that said:
I have a message for you from the Lord God your ancestor David worshiped. He knows that you have not followed the example of Jehoshaphat your father or Asa your grandfather. 13 Instead you have acted like those sinful kings of Israel and have encouraged the people of Judah to stop worshiping the Lord, just as Ahab and his descendants did. You even murdered your own brothers, who were better men than you.
14 Because you have done these terrible things, the Lord will severely punish the people in your kingdom, including your own family, and he will destroy everything you own. 15 You will be struck with a painful stomach disease and suffer until you die.
16 The Lord later caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians[c] to become angry with Jehoram. 17 They invaded Judah and stole the royal property from the palace, and they led Jehoram's wives and sons away as prisoners. The only one left behind was Ahaziah,[d] his youngest son.
18 After this happened, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable stomach disease. 19 About two years later, Jehoram died in terrible pain. No bonfire was built to honor him, even though the people had done this for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled 8 years from Jerusalem. He died, and no one even felt sad. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs.
Footnotes
- 21.10 Even the town of Libnah: This was a town on the border between Philistia and Judah, which means that Jehoram was facing rebellion on both sides of his kingdom.
- 21.11 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
- 21.16 Ethiopians: See the note at 12.3.
- 21.17 Ahaziah: The Hebrew text has “Jehoahaz,” another spelling of the name.
2 Chronicles 21
Common English Bible
21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in David’s City. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king.
Jehoram rules
2 Jehoram’s brothers, the other sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All of these were the sons of Israel’s King Jehoshaphat. 3 Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and other valuables, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the oldest son.
4 When Jehoram had taken control of his father’s kingdom, he established his rule by killing all his brothers, along with some other leaders of Israel. 5 Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He walked in the ways of Israel’s kings, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. 7 Nevertheless, because of the covenant he had made with David, the Lord wasn’t willing to destroy David’s dynasty. He had promised to preserve a lamp for David and his sons forever. 8 During Jehoram’s rule, Edom rebelled against Judah’s power and appointed its own king. 9 Jehoram, along with all his chariots, crossed over to Zair.[a] The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night, defeating him[b] and his chariot officers. 10 So Edom has been independent of Judah to this day. Libnah rebelled against Jehoram’s rule at the same time because he had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 11 As if that wasn’t enough, Jehoram constructed shrines throughout Judah’s highlands, encouraged Jerusalem’s citizens to be unfaithful, and led Judah astray.
12 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, 13 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, 14 the Lord will now strike your family, your children, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow. 15 You yourself will become deathly ill with a chronic disease that will cause your intestines to fall out.”
16 Then the Lord made the Philistines and the Arabs, who lived near the Cushites, angry with Jehoram. 17 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. 18 After all this, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease. 19 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. 20 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eight years in Jerusalem. No one was sorry he died. He was buried in David’s City but not in the royal cemetery.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 21:9 Correction with 2 Kgs 8:21; MT with his officers
- 2 Chronicles 21:9 Or he defeated Edom
2 Chronicles 21
New Century Version
21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David. Then his son Jehoram became king in his place. 2 Jehoram’s brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. They were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 3 Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, and he gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the first son.
Jehoram King of Judah
4 When Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom, he killed all his brothers with a sword and also killed some of the leaders of Judah. 5 He was thirty-two years old when he began to rule, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He followed in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the family of Ahab had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong. 7 But the Lord would not destroy David’s family because of the agreement he had made with David. He had promised that one of David’s descendants would always rule.
8 In Jehoram’s time, Edom broke away from Judah’s rule and chose their own king. 9 So Jehoram went to Edom with all his commanders and chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites at night. 10 From then until now the country of Edom has fought against the rule of Judah. At the same time the people of Libnah also broke away from Jehoram because Jehoram left the Lord, the God of his ancestors.
11 Jehoram also built places to worship gods on the hills in Judah. He led the people of Jerusalem to sin, and he led the people of Judah away from the Lord. 12 Then Jehoram received this letter from Elijah the prophet:
This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says, “Jehoram, you have not lived as your father Jehoshaphat lived and as Asa king of Judah lived. 13 But you have lived as the kings of Israel lived, leading the people of Judah and Jerusalem to sin against God, as Ahab and his family did. You have killed your brothers, and they were better than you. 14 So now the Lord is about to punish your people, your children, wives, and everything you own. 15 You will have a terrible disease in your intestines that will become worse every day. Finally it will cause your intestines to come out.”
16 The Lord caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Cushites to be angry with Jehoram. 17 So the Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah and carried away all the wealth of Jehoram’s palace, as well as his sons and wives. Only Jehoram’s youngest son, Ahaziah, was left.
18 After these things happened, the Lord gave Jehoram a disease in his intestines that could not be cured. 19 After he was sick for two years, Jehoram’s intestines came out because of the disease, and he died in terrible pain. The people did not make a fire to honor Jehoram as they had done for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. No one was sad when he died. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the graves for the kings.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.