Judah’s King Ahaziah

22 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs(A) to the camp had killed all the older sons.[a] So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. Ahaziah(B) was twenty-two[b] years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter[c] of Omri.

He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother gave him evil advice. So he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight like the house of Ahab, for they were his advisers after the death of his father, to his destruction. He also followed their advice and went with Joram[d] son of Israel’s King Ahab to fight against King Hazael of Aram, in Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans[e] wounded Joram, so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead[f] when he fought against King Hazael of Aram. Then Judah’s King Ahaziah[g] son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.

Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to Joram.(C) When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi,(D) whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.(E) So when Jehu executed judgment on the house of Ahab,(F) he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them. Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah,(G) and Jehu’s soldiers captured him (he was hiding in Samaria). So they brought Ahaziah to Jehu, and they killed him. The soldiers buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart.”(H) So no one from the house of Ahaziah had the strength to rule the kingdom.

Athaliah Usurps the Throne

10 When(I) Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs[h] of the house of Judah. 11 Jehoshabeath,[i] the king’s daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king’s sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of the priest Jehoiada. Since she was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12 He was hiding with them in God’s temple for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Footnotes

  1. 22:1 Lit the former ones
  2. 22:2 Some LXX mss, Syr; MT reads 42; 2Kg 8:26
  3. 22:2 Lit daughter
  4. 22:5 = Jehoram
  5. 22:5 Lit Rammites
  6. 22:6 Lit in Ramah
  7. 22:6 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read Azariah
  8. 22:10 Lit seed
  9. 22:11 = Jehosheba; 2Kg 11:2

The Reign of Ahaziah

22 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the band of men who had come with the Arabs to the camp had murdered all the older sons. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned. Ahaziah was forty-two[a] years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Athaliah, the daughter[b] of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor for doing wickedness. And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh as the house of Ahab had done, for they were his counselors to his destruction after the death of his father. He also walked in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to war against Hazael king of Aram[c] at Ramoth-Gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram. And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds he had suffered at Ramah, when he made war against Hazael king of Aram.[d] And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezreel for he was sick.

But the downfall of Ahaziah was from God, and intended to come to Joram. And when he came, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. And it happened that when Jehu was judging the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah who ministered to Ahaziah, and he killed them. And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, “He is the descendant[e] of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart.” And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over the kingdom.

The Reign of Athaliah

10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and murdered all the royal descendants[f] of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehosheba the daughter of the king took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and kidnapped him away from the sons of the king who were to be put to death. And she put him and his nurse in a private bedroom. So Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from before Athaliah so that she did not put him to death. 12 And he was hidden with them in the house of God six years, but Athaliah reigned over the land.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 22:2 The Septuagint reads “twenty-two” here
  2. 2 Chronicles 22:2 Some translations render the term “granddaughter”
  3. 2 Chronicles 22:5 Or “Syria”
  4. 2 Chronicles 22:6 Or “Syria”
  5. 2 Chronicles 22:9 Or “son”; Ahaziah was Jehoshaphat’s grandson
  6. 2 Chronicles 22:10 Literally “seed of the kingdom”