Ahaziah

25Joram, son of Ahab, was king of Israel. In his twelfth year, Ahaziah became king of Judah. Ahaziah was the son of Jehoram.

In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother was named Athaliah. She came from the family line of Omri, a king of Israel.

Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

NoteOmri was a king of Israel, and Ahab was his son. So Athaliah came from Ahab's family too. The Hebrew word here is daughter, but it can also mean a granddaughter or any girl born later in the family.

27Ahaziah lived the way Ahab's family lived. He did evil things, and the LORD saw it. He had married into Ahab's family.

And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.

28Ahaziah went with Joram, son of Ahab, to fight a war. They fought Hazael, king of Syria, at a place called Ramothgilead. The Syrians hurt Joram in the battle.

And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

NoteRamothgilead was a town east of the Jordan River. Israel and Syria fought over that town again and again. Here the two kings, one from Israel and one from Judah, fought side by side.

29King Joram went back to the town of Jezreel to get better. The Syrians had wounded him at Ramah when he fought Hazael. Then Ahaziah, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit Joram, because Joram was hurt.

And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

NoteJezreel was a town in Israel where the kings had a second palace. Wounded kings went home to rest and heal there.

16Then Jehu got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel. Joram was lying sick there. Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had come to visit him.

So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.

NoteA chariot was a small cart pulled by fast horses. Soldiers stood up inside it to fight. Also, God's people had split into two lands. Israel was in the north and Judah was in the south.

17A watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu and his men coming and called out, "I see a group of soldiers!" Joram said, "Send a rider out to meet them. Have him ask if they come in peace."

And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?

NoteA watchman stood high on a tower by the city gate. His job was to spot anyone coming from far away.

18So a man rode out on a horse to meet Jehu. He said, "The king asks, do you come in peace?" Jehu answered, "What do you know about peace? Get in line behind me." The watchman called out, "The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back."

So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.

Note"Get in line behind me" meant join my side. Jehu was telling the rider he now belonged to him.

19So the king sent out a second rider. He said, "The king asks, do you come in peace?" Jehu answered again, "What do you know about peace? Get in line behind me."

Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

20The watchman called out again. "He reached them, but he is not coming back either. The driver drives like Jehu son of Nimshi. He drives like a wild man."

And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

NoteEvery driver had his own way of handling the horses. From far off, a watchman could tell who was driving.

21Joram shouted, "Get my chariot ready!" So they got it ready. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out. Each man rode in his own chariot. They met Jehu on the land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.

And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

NoteA man named Naboth once owned a vineyard on this land. King Ahab wanted it, and Jezebel had Naboth killed to get it.

22When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, "Do you come in peace, Jehu?" Jehu answered, "How can there be peace? Your mother Jezebel worships false gods. She uses magic, and she does it again and again."

And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

NoteThe King James word "whoredoms" means leaving God to worship other gods. Witchcraft meant using magic to try to learn the future.

23Joram turned his chariot around and fled. He shouted to Ahaziah, "It is a trap, Ahaziah!"

And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.

24Jehu pulled his bow back with all his strength. He shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart. Joram slumped down in his chariot.

And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.

Note"Between his arms" means between the shoulders, in the back.

25Jehu said to Bidkar, his officer, "Pick him up. Throw him on Naboth's field. Remember when you and I rode behind his father Ahab? The LORD spoke these hard words against Ahab that day."

Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;

Note"Burden" is an old word for a heavy message from God. It was usually a warning that something bad would come.

26"The LORD said, 'I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons. I will pay you back on this very piece of land.' So do what the LORD said. Pick Joram up and throw him on that land."

Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.

Note"Plat" is an old word for a small piece of ground. "Requite" means to pay someone back.

27King Ahaziah of Judah saw this and fled up the road toward the garden house. Jehu chased him and shouted, "Shoot him too!" They shot him in his chariot on the hill of Gur, near Ibleam. He got as far as Megiddo and died there.

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

NoteAhaziah's mother came from Ahab's family. That is why Jehu went after him too. Megiddo was another city nearby.

28His servants carried his body by chariot to Jerusalem. They buried him in his own tomb, with the family who came before him. This was in the City of David.

And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

NoteThe City of David was the oldest part of Jerusalem. It was named after King David. The kings of Judah were buried there.

29Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year that Joram son of Ahab ruled.

And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

NotePeople counted years by how long a king had ruled. They had no calendars with years like ours.

12Then Jehu set out for Samaria. On the way he stopped at the shearing house.

And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,

NoteA shearing house was a place where workers cut the wool off sheep.

13There Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. He asked, "Who are you?" They said, "We are Ahaziah's relatives. We came to greet the king's sons and the queen's sons."

Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.

NoteJudah was the other half of God's people. It had its own king. The queen here was the king's mother. She was an important person in the palace.

14Jehu said, "Take them alive." So his men caught them alive. Then they killed them at the well by the shearing house. There were forty-two men. Not one was left.

And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

1Athaliah was the mother of King Ahaziah. When she saw that her son was dead, she acted. She killed everyone in the royal family who might become king.

And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

NoteIn those days a king's son became the next king after him. Athaliah killed the boys in the family so that she could rule instead.

2But Jehosheba was the daughter of King Joram and the sister of Ahaziah. She took Joash, the little son of Ahaziah, away from the king's sons who were being killed. She hid him and his nurse in a bedroom. Athaliah never found him, so he was not killed.

But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

NoteJehosheba was Joash's aunt. A nurse was a woman who fed a baby and cared for him. Joash was still very small.

3Joash stayed hidden with his nurse in the temple, God's house, for six years. All that time Athaliah ruled the land.

And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.

NoteThe temple was God's house in Jerusalem. It had many side rooms where the priests lived, so a child could stay hidden there.

1The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king in place of his father Jehoram. Ahaziah was the youngest son. Raiders had come with the Arabs and killed all his older brothers. So Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, became king of Judah.

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.

NoteJudah was a small country. God's people had split into two lands, Israel and Judah. Raiders are people who rush in to attack and steal.

2Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother was named Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri.

Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

NoteIsrael was the other land of God's people, just north of Judah. Omri had been a king there. So Ahaziah's mother came from that royal family. The King James says Ahaziah was forty-two here, but 2 Kings 8:26 says twenty-two. His father died at forty, so forty-two would make him older than his own father. Someone copying this book long ago most likely wrote the wrong number.

3Ahaziah lived the same wrong way that Ahab's family lived. His own mother told him to do wicked things.

He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.

NoteAhab was a king of Israel. He and his family prayed to statues instead of God. "Wicked" means very bad on purpose.

4So he did what the LORD said was evil, just like Ahab's family did. After his father died, they told him what to do. Their advice ruined him.

Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.

NoteThe King James writes "the LORD" in big letters. That stands for God's own special name.

5Ahaziah did what they told him. He went with Joram, son of Ahab and king of Israel, to fight Hazael, the king of Aram. They fought at a place called Ramoth-gilead. The soldiers of Aram wounded Joram there.

He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram.

NoteAram was a country north of Israel. Older Bibles call it Syria. Ramoth-gilead was a town both sides wanted.

6So Joram went back to the town of Jezreel to get better. He had been hurt at Ramah while fighting Hazael, king of Aram. Then Ahaziah, son of Jehoram and king of Judah, went down to Jezreel. He went to visit Joram, because Joram was hurt.

And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.

NoteJezreel was a town in Israel where the king had a house. Kings often went there to rest.

7God let Ahaziah's fall happen through that visit to Joram. When Ahaziah got there, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu, son of Nimshi. The LORD had chosen Jehu to put an end to Ahab's family.

And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

NoteThe King James says God "anointed" Jehu. That means oil was poured on his head. It was a sign that God picked him for a job.

8Jehu was carrying out that punishment on Ahab's family. He found the leaders of Judah and Ahaziah's nephews, who worked for Ahaziah. Jehu killed them.

And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them.

9Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah. Ahaziah was hiding in Samaria, and men caught him there. They brought him to Jehu, and he was put to death. They still buried him. They said, "He is a grandson of Jehoshaphat, who followed the LORD with his whole heart." After that, no one in Ahaziah's family was strong enough to rule.

And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.

NoteSamaria was the biggest city in the land of Israel. Jehoshaphat was an earlier king of Judah. People remembered that he loved God, so they buried his grandson properly.

10Athaliah was Ahaziah's mother. When she saw that her son was dead, she began killing the whole royal family of Judah.

But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.

NoteThe royal family means the king's children and close relatives. Long ago, a person taking over sometimes killed them all. Then no one was left who could take the throne back.

11But Jehoshabeath, a daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash, the baby son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from the king's sons who were being killed. She hid him and the woman who cared for him in a bedroom. Jehoshabeath was Ahaziah's sister and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She hid Joash from Athaliah, so Athaliah could not kill him.

But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. 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 that she slew him not.

NoteA priest was a man whose job was to lead people in worshiping God. The woman who cared for Joash fed him and looked after him, like a babysitter who lived with the family.

12Joash stayed hidden with them in God's house for six years. During those years, Athaliah ruled the land.

And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

NoteGod's house was the temple in Jerusalem. It was the special building where people came to worship God.