1    ^noteThen the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the raiders who had joined the Arabs in the campaign ^note had killed all the elder sons. So Ahaziah son of Joram became king of Judah. 2   He was forty-two years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for one year; his mother was Athaliah granddaughter ^note of Omri. 3   He too followed the practices of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counsellor in wickedness. 4   He did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for they had been his counsellors after his father's death, to his undoing. 5   He followed their counsel also in the alliance he made with Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel, to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But Jehoram was wounded by the Aramaeans, 6   and returned to Jezreel to

The kings from Rehoboam to Ahaz recover from ^note the wounds which were inflicted on him at Ramoth ^note in battle with Hazael king of Aram.

Because of Jehoram's illness Ahaziah ^note son of Joram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit him. 7   It was God's will that the visit of Ahaziah to Jehoram should be the occasion of his downfall. During the visit he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to bring the house of Ahab to an end. 8   So it came about that Jehu, who was then at variance with the house of Ahab, found the officers of Judah and ^note the kinsmen of Ahaziah who were his attendants, and killed them. 9   Then he searched out Ahaziah himself, and his men captured him in Samaria, where he had gone into hiding. They brought him to Jehu and put him to death; they gave him burial, for they said, ‘He was a son of Jehoshaphat who sought the guidance of the Lord with his whole heart.’ Then the house of Ahaziah had no one strong enough to rule.

10    ^noteAs soon as Athaliah mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she set out to extirpate the royal line of the house of Judah. 11   But Jehosheba ^note daughter of King Joram took Ahaziah's son Joash and stole him away from among the princes who were being murdered; she put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. Thus Jehosheba ^note daughter of King Joram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was Ahaziah's sister, hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not put him to death. 12   He remained concealed with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah ruled the country.

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