Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

22 (A)And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men that came with (B)the Arabians to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. Ahaziah was twenty-two[a] years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, (C)the granddaughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. 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. 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, 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.

But it was ordained by[b] God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, (D)he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, (E)whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. (F)And when Jehu was (G)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. (H)He searched for Ahaziah, and he was captured while hiding in Samaria, and he was brought to Jehu and put to death. (I)They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, (J)who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 22:2 See 2 Kings 8:26; Hebrew forty-two; Septuagint twenty
  2. 2 Chronicles 22:7 Hebrew was from

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.

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. Ahaziah also followed the evil example of King Ahab’s family, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. 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.

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, 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.

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.

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. 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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 22:1 Or marauding bands of Arabs.
  2. 22:2 As in some Greek manuscripts and Syriac version (see also 2 Kgs 8:26); Hebrew reads forty-two.
  3. 22:5a Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in 22:6, 7.
  4. 22:5b As in two Hebrew manuscripts and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Kgs 8:28); Masoretic Text reads the archers.
  5. 22:6a Hebrew Ramah, a variant spelling of Ramoth.
  6. 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.
  7. 22:7 Hebrew descendant of Nimshi; compare 2 Kgs 9:2, 14.
  8. 22:8 As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 10:13); Hebrew reads and sons of the brothers of Ahaziah.