2 Chronicles 22

Revised Geneva Translation

22 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place. For the army that came with the Arabians to the camp had killed all the eldest. Therefore, 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. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.

³ He also walked in the ways of the House of Ahab. For his mother counseled him to do wickedly.

⁴ Therefore, he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the House of Ahab. For they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

⁵ And he walked after their counsel and went with Jehoram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead. And the Aramites struck Joram.

⁶ And he returned to be healed in Jezreel, because of the wounds with which they had wounded him at Ramah when he fought with Hazael, king of Aram. Now Azariah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram, the son of Ahab, at Jezreel, because he was diseased.

⁷ And the destruction of Ahaziah came from God, in that he went to Joram. For when he had come, he went forth with Jehoram against Jehu, the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the House of Ahab.

⁸ Therefore, when Jehu executed judgment upon the House of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah that waited on Ahaziah, he killed them also.

⁹ And he sought Ahaziah. And they caught him where he was hidden in Samaria and brought him to Jehu and killed him and buried him, “Because,” they said, “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So, the House of Ahaziah was not able to retain the kingdom.

¹⁰ Therefore, when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the king’s seed of the House of Judah.

¹¹ But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons who were to be killed and put him and his nurse in the bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the Priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah) hid him from Athaliah. So, she did not kill him.

¹² And he was hidden with them in the House of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.