Chapter 21
1 [a]Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king. 2 Jehoram’s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah. All of these were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 3 Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and other valuable possessions, as well as fortified cities in Judah. However, he bestowed the kingship upon Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
The Evil Deeds of Jehoram. 4 When Jehoram had firmly established himself on his father’s throne, he put all of his brothers to the sword as well as some of the princes of Israel. 5 He was thirty-two years old when he ascended the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years.
6 Jehoram followed the practices of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for he had married one of Ahab’s daughters, and he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. 7 However, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David and because of his promise to give him and his descendants a lamp forever.
8 During the reign of Jehoram, Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and appointed its own king. 9 Therefore, Jehoram crossed over into Edom with his commanders and all his chariots. He set out during the night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders.
10 However, Edom has remained in rebellion against the sovereignty of Judah to the present day. Libnah revolted against the rule of Jehoram at the same time because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers, 11 and because he had established shrines in the hill country of Judah, leading the inhabitants of Jerusalem into idolatry and the people of Judah into apostasy.
12 Retribution. A letter came to Jehoram from the prophet Elijah with this message: “Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: ‘You have not followed the example of your father Jehoshaphat, nor of Asa, king of Judah,[b] 13 but have instead followed the example of the kings of Israel and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into apostasy, just as the house of Ahab did. Also, you have murdered your brothers, members of your father’s house, who were far more worthy than you.
14 “ ‘Because of all this, the Lord will cause a great affliction to affect your people, your children, your wives, and all your property. 15 Moreover, you yourself will suffer greatly from a severe disease afflicting your bowels that will eventually cause them to protrude.’ ”
16 Then the Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who dwelt near the Ethiopians.[c] 17 They attacked Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the wealth that was found in the king’s palace, together with his sons and his wives. Not a son was left to him except the youngest, Jehoahaz.
18 After all this the Lord struck down Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels. 19 In the course of time, after two years had gone by, his bowels came forth as a result of his disease, and he died in unbearable agony. His people did not bother to make a funeral pyre for him as they had done for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. He passed away with none of the people exhibiting any sign of regret, and he was buried in the City of David, although not in the tombs of the kings.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 21:1 In less than a century after the separation of the two kingdoms, the faith had grown weak in Judah, and there was a relaxation of morals. Under the influence of the powerful neighbor to the north, pagan practices gradually infiltrated the land and Jerusalem, its capital. The temple and the priesthood were bastions that resisted and saved the “house” of David for a time. But in about 745 B.C., the Assyrians came to power; they would threaten the Lord even in his sanctuary. In telling this entire story, the pessimistic Chronicler emphasizes the special responsibility of the kings in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 21:12 Either Elijah was still alive, or he had already disappeared (his end in 2 Ki 2:1-11 precedes the story of Joram, but this is not a decisive argument). In the second case, Elijah may have had prophetic foresight of the future and have written his vision down with orders to make it known at the proper time.
- 2 Chronicles 21:16 These are the same people who paid tribute to his father (2 Chr 17:11); with the changed conduct of the sovereign, these relationships also changed.