2 Chronicles 22
Legacy Standard Bible
Ahaziah Reigns over Judah
22 (A)Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made [a]Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with (B)the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah became king. 2 Ahaziah was [b]twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the [c]granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. 4 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to (C)his destruction.
Ahaziah Goes with Jehoram of Israel
5 He also walked according to their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the [d](D)Arameans struck [e]Joram. 6 So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they caused by striking him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And [f]Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
7 Now (E)the downfall of Ahaziah was from God, in that [g]he went to Joram. And when he came, (F)he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, (G)whom Yahweh had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
Jehu Kills the Princes of Judah
8 (H)Now it happened when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers attending to Ahaziah, and killed them. 9 (I)And he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding himself in Samaria; they brought him to Jehu, put him to death, (J)and buried him. For they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, (K)who sought Yahweh with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.
10 (L)Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son had died. So she rose and destroyed all the royal seed of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so she did not put him to death. 12 So he was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah was reigning over the land.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 22:1 In 2 Chr 21:17, Jehoahaz
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 As in some versions and 2 Kin 8:26; Heb 42 years
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 Lit daughter
- 2 Chronicles 22:5 Heb archers
- 2 Chronicles 22:5 Jehoram
- 2 Chronicles 22:6 As in 2 Kin 8:29; Heb Azariah
- 2 Chronicles 22:7 Lit to go
2 Chronicles 22
New Living Translation
Ahaziah Rules in Judah
22 Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, their next king, since the marauding bands who came with the Arabs[a] had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of Judah.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two[b] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri. 3 Ahaziah also followed the evil example of King Ahab’s family, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. 4 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Ahab’s family had done. They even became his advisers after the death of his father, and they led him to ruin.
5 Following their evil advice, Ahaziah joined Joram,[c] the son of King Ahab of Israel, in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. When the Arameans[d] wounded Joram in the battle, 6 he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramoth.[e] Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziah[f] of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him.
7 But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah’s downfall. While he was there, Ahaziah went out with Joram to meet Jehu grandson of Nimshi,[g] whom the Lord had appointed to destroy the dynasty of Ahab.
8 While Jehu was executing judgment against the family of Ahab, he happened to meet some of Judah’s officials and Ahaziah’s relatives[h] who were traveling with Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them all. 9 Then Jehu’s men searched for Ahaziah, and they found him hiding in the city of Samaria. They brought him to Jehu, who killed him. Ahaziah was given a decent burial because the people said, “He was the grandson of Jehoshaphat—a man who sought the Lord with all his heart.” But none of the surviving members of Ahaziah’s family was capable of ruling the kingdom.
Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah
10 When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of Judah’s royal family. 11 But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba,[i] the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. In this way, Jehosheba, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid the child so that Athaliah could not murder him. 12 Joash remained hidden in the Temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.
Footnotes
- 22:1 Or marauding bands of Arabs.
- 22:2 As in some Greek manuscripts and Syriac version (see also 2 Kgs 8:26); Hebrew reads forty-two.
- 22:5a Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in 22:6, 7.
- 22:5b As in two Hebrew manuscripts and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Kgs 8:28); Masoretic Text reads the archers.
- 22:6a Hebrew Ramah, a variant spelling of Ramoth.
- 22:6b As in some Hebrew manuscripts, Greek and Syriac versions, and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Kgs 8:29); most Hebrew manuscripts read Azariah.
- 22:7 Hebrew descendant of Nimshi; compare 2 Kgs 9:2, 14.
- 22:8 As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 10:13); Hebrew reads and sons of the brothers of Ahaziah.
- 22:11 As in parallel text at 2 Kgs 11:2; Hebrew lacks Ahaziah’s sister and reads Jehoshabeath [a variant spelling of Jehosheba].
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