Jehoram Reigns in Judah

21 ^(A)Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place. ² He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of ^(B)Israel.^{[a] 3} Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with ^(C)fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. ⁴ When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of ^(D)Israel. ^5 (E)Jehoram was ^(F)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ^6 (G)And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for ^(H)the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁷ Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give ^(I)a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

⁸ In his days Edom revolted from the ^(J)rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. ⁹ Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all his chariots, and he rose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. ¹⁰ So Edom revolted from ^(K)the rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah also revolted from his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.

¹¹ Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(L)into whoredom and made Judah go astray. ¹² And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, ^(M)‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or ^(N)in the ways of Asa king of Judah, ^13 (O)but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(P)into whoredom, ^(Q)as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also you ^(R)have killed your brothers, of your father's house, who were better than you, ¹⁴ behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, ¹⁵ and you yourself will have a severe sickness ^(S)with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day.’”

^16 (T)And the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the anger^[b] of the Philistines and of ^(U)the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians. ¹⁷ And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except ^(V)Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

¹⁸ And after all this the Lord struck him ^(W)in his bowels with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, ^(X)like the fires made for his fathers. ^20 (Y)He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed ^(Z)with no one's regret. ^(AA)They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

22 ^(AB)And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men that came with ^(AC)the Arabians to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. ² Ahaziah was twenty-two^[c] years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, ^(AD)the granddaughter of Omri. 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, as the house of Ahab had done. For after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his undoing. ⁵ He even followed their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram, ⁶ and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was wounded.

⁷ But it was ordained by^[d] God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, ^(AE)he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, ^(AF)whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. ^8 (AG)And when Jehu was ^(AH)executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. ^9 (AI)He searched for Ahaziah, and he was captured while hiding in Samaria, and he was brought to Jehu and put to death. ^(AJ)They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, ^(AK)who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

^10 (AL)Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehoshabeath,^[e] the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him^[f] from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death. ¹² And he remained with them six years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Stephen's Speech

7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen said:

^(A)“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^(B)The God ^(C)of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^(D)before he lived in Haran, ³ and said to him, ^(E)‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ ^4 (F)Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And ^(G)after his father died, ^(H)God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. ⁵ Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised ^(I)to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^(J)though he had no child. ⁶ And God spoke to this effect—that ^(K)his offspring would ^(L)be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^(M)four hundred years. ⁷ ‘But ^(N)I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out ^(O)and worship me in this place.’ ⁸ And ^(P)he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And ^(Q)so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and ^(R)circumcised him on the eighth day, and ^(S)Isaac became the father of Jacob, and ^(T)Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ “And the patriarchs, ^(U)jealous of Joseph, ^(V)sold him into Egypt; but ^(W)God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him out of all his afflictions and ^(X)gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^(Y)who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ¹¹ Now ^(Z)there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. ^12 (AA)But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ And ^(AB)on the second visit ^(AC)Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^(AD)Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ And ^(AE)Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, ^(AF)seventy-five persons in all. ¹⁵ And ^(AG)Jacob went down into Egypt, and ^(AH)he died, he ^(AI)and our fathers, ¹⁶ and ^(AJ)they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that ^(AK)Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷ “But ^(AL)as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^(AM)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ until there arose over Egypt another king ^(AN)who did not know Joseph.