2 ChroniclesChapter 22
Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.
1Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king after his father. He was Jehoram's youngest son. They did this because raiders had come into the camp with the Arabs and killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. 2Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah. She was the granddaughter of Omri. 3Ahaziah also lived the way Ahab's family did, because his mother gave him advice to do wicked things. 4He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as Ahab's family had done. That was because they became his advisers after his father died. And that led to his ruin. 5Ahaziah followed their advice. He went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to fight Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Arameans wounded Joram. 6So Joram went back to Jezreel to heal. He had been wounded at Ramah when he fought Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel. He went to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded. 7God made Ahaziah's visit to Joram the cause of his downfall. When Ahaziah got there, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi. The LORD had anointed Jehu to destroy the family of Ahab. 8Jehu was carrying out judgment on Ahab's family. While he did, he found the leaders of Judah. He also found the sons of Ahaziah's brothers who served Ahaziah. And he killed them. 9Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah. Jehu's soldiers caught him hiding in Samaria. They brought Ahaziah to Jehu, and he was put to death. They buried him, because they said, "He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." So no one in Ahaziah's family was strong enough to rule the kingdom. 10Athaliah was Ahaziah's mother. When she saw that her son was dead, she set out to kill everyone in the royal family of Judah. 11But Jehoshabeath, King Jehoram's daughter, took Joash son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from the king's sons who were being murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehoshabeath was King Jehoram's daughter. She was the wife of Jehoiada the priest. And she was Ahaziah's sister. So she hid Joash from Athaliah, and Athaliah could not kill him. 12Joash stayed hidden with them in the house of God for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.