Ahaziah Rules in Judah

1Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, their next king, since the marauding bands who came with the Arabsa had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of Judah.

2Ahaziah was twenty-twob years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri. 3Ahaziah also followed the evil example of King Ahab’s family, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. 4He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as Ahab’s family had done. They even became his advisers after the death of his father, and they led him to ruin.

5Following their evil advice, Ahaziah joined Joram,c the son of King Ahab of Israel, in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. When the Arameansd wounded Joram in the battle, 6he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramoth.e Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziahf of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him.

7But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah’s downfall. While he was there, Ahaziah went out with Joram to meet Jehu grandson of Nimshi,g whom the LORD had appointed to destroy the dynasty of Ahab.

8While Jehu was executing judgment against the family of Ahab, he happened to meet some of Judah’s officials and Ahaziah’s relativesh who were traveling with Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them all. 9Then Jehu’s men searched for Ahaziah, and they found him hiding in the city of Samaria. They brought him to Jehu, who killed him. Ahaziah was given a decent burial because the people said, “He was the grandson of Jehoshaphat—a man who sought the LORD with all his heart.” But none of the surviving members of Ahaziah’s family was capable of ruling the kingdom.

Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah

10When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of Judah’s royal family. 11But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba,i the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king’s children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. In this way, Jehosheba, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid the child so that Athaliah could not murder him. 12Joash remained hidden in the Temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.