Jehoram

1Jehoram was the son of Ahab. He became king of Israel in the city of Samaria. This happened when Jehoshaphat had been king of Judah for eighteen years. Jehoram was king for twelve years.

Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

NoteIsrael and Judah were two lands that used to be one country. They split apart, and each one had its own king. Samaria was the main city of Israel.

2Jehoram did what the LORD said was wrong. But he was not as bad as his father and mother. He took away the stone pillar his father had set up for the god Baal.

And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.

NoteBaal was a god that people nearby prayed to. The stone pillar was a tall stone set up to honor him.

3Still, Jehoram kept doing the same wrong things Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam was a king who led Israel to do wrong. Jehoram would not stop doing those things.

Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

NoteJeroboam was an earlier king of Israel. He made gold statues for people to bow down to instead of the LORD.

4Mesha was the king of Moab. He raised sheep. Every year he had to give the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs. He also gave the wool from a hundred thousand rams.

And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

NoteLong ago, a beaten king had to send gifts to the stronger king every year. Sheep and wool were like paying money.

5But when King Ahab died, the king of Moab refused to obey Israel's king anymore.

But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6So King Jehoram left Samaria right away. He gathered all the fighting men of Israel.

And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.

7He sent this message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah: "The king of Moab will not obey me. Will you come and fight Moab with me?" Jehoshaphat said, "Yes, I will come. My people and my horses are ready to help you."

And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

Note"My people and my horses are yours" was a promise. It meant, my army will fight beside your army.

8Jehoshaphat asked, "Which road should we take?" Jehoram answered, "We will go through the dry desert of Edom."

And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

NoteEdom was the dry land south of Moab. Going that way meant a long, hot walk with little water.

9So three kings went together: the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom. They marched a long way around for seven days. Then they ran out of water. There was none for the soldiers or the animals.

So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

10The king of Israel said, "Oh no! The LORD has brought us three kings here. Now Moab will beat us."

And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

11But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there a prophet of the LORD here? We could ask the LORD through him." One of the king of Israel's servants said, "Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He was the helper of the prophet Elijah."

But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

NoteThe King James says Elisha "poured water on the hands of Elijah." That was a servant's job, helping his master wash. A prophet was someone who told people what God said.

12Jehoshaphat said, "The LORD speaks through him." So the three kings went down to see Elisha.

And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Why come to me? Go ask the prophets your father and mother trusted." The king of Israel said, "No. The LORD brought us three kings here, and Moab will beat us."

And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

NoteElisha means the prophets who spoke for Baal. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel kept many of them.

14Elisha said, "I serve the living LORD, the God of armies. I would not even look at you. But I care about Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, who is here.

And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

NoteThe King James calls God "the LORD of hosts." A host meant a huge army, so the name means God is stronger than any army.

15"Now bring me someone who plays music." While the music played, the power of the LORD came on Elisha.

But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

NoteMusic helped a prophet grow quiet and listen for God. The player used a small harp.

16He said, "The LORD says this: dig this whole valley full of ditches.

And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

NoteA ditch is a long hole dug in the ground. Water runs into it and stays there.

17The LORD says you will not see any wind or rain. But this valley will fill up with water. You will drink, and so will your cattle and other animals.

For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

NoteIn that dry land, rain almost never fell in summer. Water would come without any storm they could see.

18This is an easy thing for the LORD to do. He will also help you win against the people of Moab.

And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

19You will take every strong, walled city and every important town. You will cut down every good tree. You will block up every spring of water. You will cover every good field with stones."

And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

NoteArmies ruined farms so the land could not grow food. Stones in a field and blocked springs meant no crops and no water.

20The next morning, at the time when the grain gift was given to God, water came flowing from the direction of Edom. The land filled up with water.

And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

NoteEvery morning, people brought God a gift of grain at the temple. It was about the time we call breakfast.

21The people of Moab had heard that the kings were coming to fight them. So every man who could carry a weapon was called. They stood ready at the border.

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

22They got up early in the morning. The sun was shining on the water. Across the way, the water looked red as blood to them.

And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood:

NoteEarly sunlight can make water look orange or red. From far away it looked like blood to them.

23They said, "That is blood! The kings must have fought and killed each other. Come on, Moab, let's go take their things!"

And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

24But when the Moabites reached Israel's camp, the men of Israel got up and attacked them. The Moabites ran away. Israel chased them and kept fighting them inside their own land.

And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

25They tore down the cities. Each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They blocked up all the springs and cut down all the good trees. Only the city of Kir-haraseth still had its walls standing. Men with slings surrounded it and attacked it too.

And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.

NoteKir-haraseth was Moab's strongest city, built high up with thick walls. A sling was a leather strap that threw stones very hard.

26The king of Moab saw that the fight was going badly for him. He took seven hundred men with swords to break through to the king of Edom. But they could not get through.

And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.

27Then he took his oldest son, who would have been king after him. He killed him as an offering on the city wall. There was great anger against Israel. So the armies left Moab and went home to their own land.

Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

NoteA burnt offering was a gift burned up for a god. The king of Moab believed his god would help him if he gave his own son.

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.

14So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, made a secret plan against King Joram. Joram and all Israel's army had been guarding Ramoth-gilead. They were holding it against Hazael, the king of Aram.

So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.

NoteThe King James says "Syria." That is the land also called Aram, just north of Israel. The two lands kept fighting over the town of Ramoth-gilead.

15But King Joram had gone back to Jezreel to get well. Soldiers from Aram had wounded him in the fight against their king Hazael. Jehu said, "If you really want me as king, let no one leave this city. No one must go and warn Jezreel."

But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.

NoteJezreel was a city where the king of Israel had a second palace.

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.

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.