Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David. Then his son Jehoram became king in his place. Jehoram’s brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. They were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, and he gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the first son.
When Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom, he killed all his brothers with a sword and also killed some of the leaders of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he began to rule, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. He followed in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the family of Ahab had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did what the LORD said was wrong. But the LORD would not destroy David’s family because of the agreement he had made with David. He had promised that one of David’s descendants would always rule.
In Jehoram’s time, Edom broke away from Judah’s rule and chose their own king. So Jehoram went to Edom with all his commanders and chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites at night. From then until now the country of Edom has fought against the rule of Judah. At the same time the people of Libnah also broke away from Jehoram because Jehoram left the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
Jehoram also built places to worship gods on the hills in Judah. He led the people of Jerusalem to sin, and he led the people of Judah away from the LORD. Then Jehoram received this letter from Elijah the prophet:
This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says, “Jehoram, you have not lived as your father Jehoshaphat lived and as Asa king of Judah lived. But you have lived as the kings of Israel lived, leading the people of Judah and Jerusalem to sin against God, as Ahab and his family did. You have killed your brothers, and they were better than you. So now the LORD is about to punish your people, your children, wives, and everything you own.
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