SECOND CHRONICLES

 

2 Chronicles Chapter 22

1 ¶ Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place: for the band of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.

2 Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother advised him to do evil.

4 Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his advisers after the death of his father, to his own destruction.

5 He followed their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to fight against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians smote Jehoram.

6 And he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that he received 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 But the destruction of Ahaziah was ordained of God in his coming to Jehoram: for when he came, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

8 And when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, he met the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, who attended to Ahaziah, and he killed them.

9 And Jehu searched for Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hiding in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and after they killed him, they buried him: Because, they said, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.

10 ¶ But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the entire royal family of the house of Judah.

11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were to be slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, who was the daughter of king Jehoram, the sister of Ahaziah, and the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash from Athaliah, so that she did not kill him.

12 And he was with them hiding in the house of God for six years: while Athaliah reigned over the land.