⁴ But when Jehoram had become solidly established as king, he killed all his brothers and some of the other leaders of Judah.

⁵ He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half brothers, the sons of Gideon.^[a] But the youngest brother, Jotham, escaped and hid.

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.

¹⁷ They marched against Judah, broke down its defenses, and carried away everything of value in the royal palace, including the king’s sons and his wives. Only his youngest son, Ahaziah,^[a] was spared.

⁸ One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.”^[a] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

¹² We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.

⁸ While Jehu was executing judgment against the family of Ahab, he happened to meet some of Judah’s officials and Ahaziah’s relatives^[a] who were traveling with Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them all.

⁵⁶ In this way, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon was fulfilled.