Jehoram King of Judah^(A)

⁴ When Jehoram established^(B) himself firmly over his father’s kingdom, he put all his brothers^(C) to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. ⁶ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel,^(D) as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab.^(E) He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. ⁷ Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David,^(F) the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David.^(G) He had promised to maintain a lamp^(H) for him and his descendants forever.

¹⁶ The Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs^(A) who lived near the Cushites. ¹⁷ They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king’s palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah,^[a] the youngest.^(B)

¹⁸ After all this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels. ¹⁹ In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain. His people made no funeral fire in his honor,^(C) as they had for his predecessors.

²⁰ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried^(D) in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.