2 Chronicles 21

Jehoram’s Wicked Rule & God’s Judgment

1 Jehoshaphat passed away and joined his ancestors. They buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. And his son Jehoram took over as king in his place.

2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

3 Their pops gave them a ton of silver, gold, and valuable stuff, along with fortified cities in Judah. But the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

4 When Jehoram had taken over his pops’ kingdom and solidified his rule, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the officials of Israel.

5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eight years.

6 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just like Ahab’s family did, because Ahab’s daughter was his wife. And he did what was whack in the eyes of the Lord.

7 However, the Lord was not down to wipe out David’s family, because of the covenant He made with David, and because He promised to keep a lamp burning for him and his kids forever.

8 In his days, Edom rebelled against Judah’s rule and set up their own king.

9 So Jehoram went out with his commanders and all his chariots. He got up at night and hit the Edomites who surrounded him and the chariot commanders.

10 So Edom has been rebelling against Judah’s rule to this day. Libnah also rebelled at the same time, because he had ditched the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

11 He even built high places in the mountains of Judah and made the inhabitants of Jerusalem act like prostitutes, and led Judah astray.

Elijah’s Warning & Jehoram’s Plagues

12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of your daddy David, says: ‘Because you did not walk in the ways of your pops Jehoshaphat, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah?”

13 “’But you walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem act like prostitutes, just like the prostitution of Ahab’s family, and you even killed your brothers, your own pops’ family, who were better than you?”

14 “’Look, the Lord is going to strike your people with a major plague, and your kids, your wives, and all your property.’”

15 “’And you are going to get a nasty disease in your gut, a sickness that is going to make your guts come out over many days.’”

16 The Lord stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs, who were next to the Ethiopians, against Jehoram.

17 They rolled up against Judah, invaded it, and snatched all the property found in the king’s palace, along with his sons and his wives. So not a single son was left for him, except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

18 After all this, the Lord struck him in his gut with an incurable disease.

19 It happened that after many days, about two years, his guts came out because of his sickness, and he died in severe pain. His people did not make a burning for him like they did for his ancestors.

20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. He passed away, and nobody even cared. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal tombs.