1 Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.
King Jehoram of Judah
(2 Kings 8.16-24)2 King Jehoshaphat had seven sons: Jehoram, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. 3 Jehoshaphat gave each of them silver and gold, as well as other valuable gifts. He also put them in charge of the fortified cities in Judah, but he had chosen his oldest son Jehoram to succeed him as king.
4 After Jehoram had taken control of Judah, he had his brothers killed, as well as some of the nation's leaders. 5 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years from Jerusalem.
6 Jehoram married Ahab's daughter and followed the sinful example of Ahab's family and the other kings of Israel. He disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong, 7 but because the Lord had made a solemn promise to King David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah, he refused to wipe out David's descendants.
8 While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. 9 Jehoram, his officers, and his cavalry marched to Edom, where the Edomite army surrounded them. He escaped during the night, 10 but Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah rebelled at that time.
Those things happened because Jehoram had turned away from the Lord, the God his ancestors had worshiped. 11 Jehoram even built local shrines in the hills of Judah and let the people sin against the Lord by worshiping foreign gods.
12 One day, Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet that said:
I have a message for you from the Lord God your ancestor David worshiped. He knows that you have not followed the example of Jehoshaphat your father or Asa your grandfather. 13 Instead you have acted like those sinful kings of Israel and have encouraged the people of Judah to stop worshiping the Lord, just as Ahab and his descendants did. You even murdered your own brothers, who were better men than you.
14 Because you have done these terrible things, the Lord will severely punish the people in your kingdom, including your own family, and he will destroy everything you own. 15 You will be struck with a painful stomach disease and suffer until you die.
16 The Lord later caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians to become angry with Jehoram. 17 They invaded Judah and stole the royal property from the palace, and they led Jehoram's wives and sons away as prisoners. The only one left behind was Ahaziah, his youngest son.
18 After this happened, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable stomach disease. 19 About two years later, Jehoram died in terrible pain. No bonfire was built to honor him, even though the people had done this for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled 8 years from Jerusalem. He died, and no one even felt sad. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs.
1 Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City and his son Jehoram succeeded him as king.
King Jehoram of Judah
(2 Kings 8.17-24)2 Jehoram son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah had six brothers: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. 3 Their father gave them large amounts of gold, silver, and other valuable possessions, and placed each one in charge of one of the fortified cities of Judah. But because Jehoram was the oldest, Jehoshaphat made him his successor. 4 When Jehoram was in firm control of the kingdom, he had all his brothers killed, and also some Israelite officials.
5 Jehoram became king at the age of thirty-two, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. 6 He followed the wicked example of King Ahab and the other kings of Israel, because he had married one of Ahab's daughters. He sinned against the Lord, 7 but the Lord was not willing to destroy the dynasty of David, because he had made a covenant with David and promised that his descendants would always continue to rule.
8 During Jehoram's reign Edom revolted against Judah and became an independent kingdom. 9 So Jehoram and his officers set out with chariots and invaded Edom. There the Edomite army surrounded them, but during the night they managed to break out and escape. 10 Edom has been independent of Judah ever since. During this same period the city of Libnah also revolted, because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 11 He even built pagan places of worship in the Judean highlands and led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to sin against the Lord.
12 The prophet Elijah sent Jehoram a letter, which read as follows: “The Lord, the God of your ancestor David, condemns you, because you did not follow the example of your father, King Jehoshaphat, or that of your grandfather, King Asa. 13 Instead, you have followed the example of the kings of Israel and have led the people of Judah and Jerusalem into being unfaithful to God, just as Ahab and his successors led Israel into unfaithfulness. You even murdered your brothers, who were better men than you are. 14 As a result, the Lord will severely punish your people, your children, and your wives, and will destroy your possessions. 15 You yourself will suffer a painful intestinal disease that will grow worse day by day.”
16 Some Philistines and Arabs lived near where some Ethiopians had settled along the coast. The Lord caused them to go to war against Jehoram. 17 They invaded Judah, looted the royal palace, and carried off as prisoners all the king's wives and sons except Ahaziah, his youngest son.
18 Then after all this, the Lord brought on the king a painful disease of the intestines. 19 For almost two years it grew steadily worse until finally the king died in agony. His subjects did not light a bonfire in mourning for him as had been done for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram had become king at the age of thirty-two and had ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. Nobody was sorry when he died. They buried him in David's City, but not in the royal tombs.
