Jehoram Reigns in Judah
And Jehoshaphat lay down with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Jehoram his son became king in his place.
And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariahu, and Michael, and Shephatiah — all these were sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.
And their father gave them many gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
And Jehoram rose over the kingdom of his father and strengthened himself; and he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the officials of Israel.
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done — for a daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did the evil in the eyes of the LORD.
But the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, for the sake of the covenant that he had cut with David — and as he had said, to give a lamp to him and to his sons all the days.
Edom and Libnah Rebel
In his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah; and they made a king over themselves.
And Jehoram crossed over with his commanders, and all the chariots with him. And it was, he rose by night and struck Edom, which had surrounded him, and the commanders of the chariots.
So Edom has been in rebellion from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah rebelled at the same time from under his hand — because he had abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers.
He also made high places in the mountains of Judah, and made the inhabitants of Jerusalem whore after other gods, and led Judah astray.
Elijah’s Letter to Jehoram
And a writing came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying: “Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa, king of Judah,
but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem whore as the house of Ahab made others whore — and you have even killed your brothers, the house of your father, who were better than you —
look, the LORD is about to strike a great blow against your people, and your sons, and your wives, and all your possessions.
And you will have great sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day upon day.”
Jehoram’s Disease and Death
And the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians who are alongside the Cushites;
and they came up against Judah and broke into it, and carried off all the property found in the house of the king, and also his sons and his wives; and no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
And after all this, the LORD struck him in his bowels with a disease for which there was no healing.
And it was, in the course of days, at the going out of the end of two years, that his bowels came out with his sickness, and he died in terrible sufferings. And his people made no burning for him like the burning for his fathers.
He was thirty-two when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he went without being desired; and they buried him in the city of David — but not in the tombs of the kings.