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slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king. 2 Jehoram had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and precious things, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
4 When Jehoram had established himself over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened his position by killing all his brothers with the sword, along with some of the princes of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done; for he had a daughter of Ahab as his wife. He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. 7 Yet because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, since the Lord had promised to give a lamp to David and to his sons forever.
8 During the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and appointed their own king. 9 So Jehoram crossed over into Edom with his commanders and all his chariots. Then he set out by night and attacked the Edomites, who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders. 10 So Edom has been in rebellion against Judah’s domination to this day.
Then Libnah also rebelled against his domination at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers. 11 He also built high places in the hill country of Judah and caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, and he led Judah astray.
12 Then Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet, and it read:
This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says, “You have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah. 13 Instead, you have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and you have caused Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab prostituted itself. You have also murdered your brothers, from your own father’s house, sons who were better than you. 14 Behold, the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow. 15 You yourself will be struck with a severe illness, a lingering disease of your bowels, that will continue day by day until your bowels fall out.”
16 Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites. 17 So they came up against Judah and invaded it. They carried off all of the possessions found in the king’s palace, together with his sons and his wives. There was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.
18 After all these things the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. 19 Then in the course of time, after two years his bowels fell out because of his sickness, and he died in severe agony. But his people did not make a fire in his honour, like they had made fires in honour of his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. Then to no one’s regret he died, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.