2 Chronicles 22
New American Standard Bible
Ahaziah Succeeds Jehoram in 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 began to reign. 2 Ahaziah was [b]twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for 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 act wickedly. 4 So he did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to (C)his own destruction.
Ahaziah Allies with Jehoram of Israel
5 He also walked by 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)Arameans [d]wounded [e]Joram. 6 So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds [f]which they had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And [g]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 destruction of Ahaziah was from God, in that [h]he went to Joram. For when he arrived, (F)he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, (G)whom the Lord had anointed to eliminate the house of Ahab.
Jehu Murders Princes of Judah
8 (H)And it came about, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers attending to Ahaziah, and killed them. 9 (I)He also searched for Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding 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 the Lord with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.
10 (L)Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and eliminated all the royal [i]children 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 placed 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 that she would not put him to death. 12 He kept himself hidden with them in the house of God for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 22:1 In 2 Chr 21:17, Jehoahaz
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 As in some ancient versions and 2 Kin 8:26; MT 42 years
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 Lit daughter
- 2 Chronicles 22:5 Lit struck
- 2 Chronicles 22:5 I.e., Jehoram
- 2 Chronicles 22:6 Lit with which...struck
- 2 Chronicles 22:6 As in 2 Kin 8:29; MT Azariah
- 2 Chronicles 22:7 Lit to go
- 2 Chronicles 22:10 Lit seed
2 Chronicles 22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ahaziah’s Reign
22 The inhabitants of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king as his successor, for the troops who came with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of Judah.(A) 2 Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.(B) 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. 4 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his ruin. 5 He even followed their advice and went with Jehoram son of King Ahab of Israel to make war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram,(C) 6 and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought King Hazael of Aram. And Ahaziah son of King Jehoram of Judah went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.(D)
7 But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.(E) 8 When Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them.(F) 9 He searched for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria and was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.(G)
Athaliah Seizes the Throne
10 Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family of the house of Judah.(H) 11 But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s children who were about to be killed; she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada—because she was a sister of Ahaziah—hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not kill him; 12 he remained with them six years hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.