2 Chronicles 22

¹ The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the raiding party that had come with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.

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

³ He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother counseled him to do wickedly.

⁴ He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father’s death they were his counselors, to his ruin.

⁵ Following their counsel, he also went with Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel, to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram.

⁶ Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah while fighting Hazael king of Aram. Azariah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit Jehoram son of Ahab, because he was ill.

⁷ Ahaziah’s downfall came from God through his going to visit Joram. When he arrived, he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

⁸ As Jehu carried out judgment against the house of Ahab, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, who served Ahaziah, and killed them.

⁹ Jehu searched for Ahaziah, and they captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. They brought him to Jehu and killed him. They buried him, because they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” No one in Ahaziah’s house was strong enough to rule the kingdom.

¹⁰ When Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she rose up and destroyed all the royal descendants of the house of Judah.

¹¹ But Jehosheba, the king’s daughter, took Joash son of Ahaziah, secretly removed him from among the king’s sons who were being killed, and placed him and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid him from Athaliah—she was Ahaziah’s sister—and Athaliah did not kill him.

¹² He stayed with them, hidden in the house of God, for six years, while Athaliah ruled over the land.

Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app