2 Kings 8:16-24

Contemporary English Version

King Jehoram of Judah

(2 Chronicles 21.2-20)

¹⁶Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah in Joram's fifth year as king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah.^[a] ¹⁷Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled 8 years from Jerusalem.

¹⁸Jehoram disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He married Ahab's daughter and was as sinful as Ahab's family and the kings of Israel. ¹⁹^(A) But the Lord refused to destroy Judah, because he had promised his servant David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah.

²⁰^(B) While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. ²¹So Jehoram^[b] and his cavalry marched to Zair, where the Edomite army surrounded him and his commanders. During the night he attacked the Edomites, but he was defeated, and his troops escaped to their homes.^[c] ²²Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah^[d] rebelled at that time.

²³Everything else Jehoram did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁴Jehoram died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem.^[e] His son Ahaziah then became king.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

8.16 while Jehoshaphat … Judah: In biblical times, a father and son would sometimes rule as kings at the same time. That way, when the father died, his son would already have control of the kingdom.
8.21 Jehoram: The Hebrew text has “Joram,” another spelling of the name.
8.21 he attacked … homes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8.22 Even the town of Libnah: This was a town on the border between Philistia and Judah, which means that Jehoram was facing rebellion on two sides of his kingdom.
8.24 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the city of David.”