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
King James Version
22 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.
2 Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.
4 Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.
5 He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram.
6 And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.
7 And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
8 And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them.
9 And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.
10 But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. 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 slew him not.
12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
2 Chronicles 22
Living Bible
22 Then the people of Jerusalem chose Ahaziah,[a] his youngest son, as their new king (for the marauding bands of Arabs had killed his older sons). 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old[b] when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri. 3 He, too, walked in the evil ways of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. 4 Yes, he was as evil as Ahab, for Ahab’s family became his advisors after his father’s death, and they led him on to ruin.
5 Following their evil advice, Ahaziah made an alliance with King Joram of Israel (the son of Ahab), who was at war with King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. Ahaziah led his army there to join the battle. King Joram of Israel was wounded 6 and returned to Jezreel to recover. Ahaziah went to visit him, 7 but this turned out to be a fatal mistake; for God had decided to punish Ahaziah for his alliance with Joram. It was during this visit that Ahaziah went out with Joram to challenge Jehu (son of Nimshi), whom the Lord had appointed to end the dynasty of Ahab.
8 While Jehu was hunting down and killing the family and friends of Ahab, he met King Ahaziah’s nephews, the princes of Judah, and killed them. 9 As he and his men were searching for Ahaziah, they found him hiding in the city of Samaria and brought him to Jehu, who killed him. Even so, Ahaziah was given a royal burial because he was the grandson of King Jehoshaphat—a man who enthusiastically served the Lord. None of his sons, however, except for Joash, lived to succeed him as king, 10 for their grandmother Athaliah killed them when she heard the news of her son Ahaziah’s death.
11 Joash was rescued by his Aunt Jehoshabeath, who was King Ahaziah’s sister,[c] and was hidden away in a storage room in the Temple. She was a daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. 12 Joash remained hidden in the Temple for six years while Athaliah reigned as queen. He was cared for by his nurse and by his aunt and uncle.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 22:1 Ahaziah, also called “Jehoahaz.”
- 2 Chronicles 22:2 twenty-two years old. Some manuscripts read “forty-two years old”; but see 2 Kings 8:26.
- 2 Chronicles 22:11 King Ahaziah’s sister, literally, “the king’s daughter,” i.e., King Jehoram’s daughter.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.