2 Chronicles 21
Jehoram dies with exposed intestines
King Jehoram kills all six brothers
2 Kings 8:16-24 1King Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the City of David. His son Jehoram became the next king of Judah.
2He had six brothers, all the sons of Jehoshaphat: two were named Azariah. [1] The others were Jehiel, Zechairah, Michael, and Shephatiah. 3Their father loaded them up on expensive gifts: silver, gold, and other riches. He even gave them walled cities to rule. But he gave the kingdom of Judah to Jehoram, his oldest son.
4When Jehoram became king, he secured his position by assassinating the competition: his six brothers. He killed some of the royal officials, as well.
5Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. And he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6He was just another king who got on the wrong side of God and stayed there—like the evil kings in Ahab’s family. He married Ahab’s daughter. The LORD saw all of this and didn’t like it.
7But the LORD didn’t end Judah. That’s a tribute to his love for David. God had promised him that his descendants would always rule the nation. Edom fights for its freedom
8The nation of Edom decided this would be a good time to revolt and declared their independence from Judah’s domination. 9Jehoram led his entire chariot corps into Edom, where he launched a night attack. Edom’s army surrounded them. [2]
10Edom’s revolution not only succeeded, it endured. Judah has no leverage there to this day. Even the town of Libnah [3] took the opportunity then to rebel. This happened because Jehoram turned his back on the LORD, the God of his ancestors. 11Jehoram rebuilt pagan shrines on hilltops throughout Judah, so people could worship other gods. He led the nation away from God. Plague: Elijah’s prediction
12The prophet Elijah wrote him a letter about that. He said “This is a message from the LORD, the God of your ancestor David:
‘You haven’t followed the good example of your father Jehoshaphat or of your grandfather Asa.
13Instead, you act like the godless kings of Israel. You’ve led the people of Jerusalem and the entire nation into sin. You did what Ahab and his family has done to Israel. And you slaughtered your own brothers—each one a better man than you are, by a longshot.
14For this, the LORD is going to strike you with a plague. The disease will affect everyone and everything dear to you, including your children and your wives. 15You’ll get sick, too, with an intestinal disease. Before it’s over, your bowels will prolapse. They’ll slip out of you, and the disease will get worse day after day.’” Raiders decimate the king’s family and wealth
16The LORD prodded the Philistines and African Arabs who lived near Ethiopia to attack Judah. 17They raided and robbed cities at will. They even got their hands on the king’s wealth, along with most of his family, including his sons and wives. [4] They left him with only his youngest son, Jehoahaz. Jehoram’s agonizing death
18Jehoram’s intestinal disease advanced and became incurable. 19He suffered for two years with prolapsed bowels. He died an agonizing death. The people of Jerusalem didn’t honor him with a bonfire, like ones others had made for previous kings.
20He became king when he was 32 years old. He reigned for eight years. When he died, no one cared. [5] The people buried him in the City of David, [6] but not in any of the tombs reserved for the kings. 
Footnotes
121:2In the ancient Hebrew copies of 2 Chronicles, the names appear with slightly different spellings, though they represent the same name: Azarya and Azaryahu. Some say the second name may have been a copying mistake that a later scribe tried to fix by adding a syllable at the end. On the other hand, maybe the king had the two Azariah’s by two wives, each of whom liked the name. As in, perhaps, one royal wife telling the other, “You knew I wanted to name my son Azariah and you stole the name. Well, I’m going to name my son Azariah, too, instead of Azariah II.”
221:9This story in 2 Kings 8 reports that Judah’s forces broke through the line and didn’t stop until they got back to Judah (verse 21).
321:10Libnah was a town in the Judean foothills, along the borders of Judah in the hill country and Philistine territory on the coast.
421:17This stops short of saying the invaders took Jerusalem. Some scholars speculate that when the king found out about the invasion, he did what many others did. He sent his family and his wealth to a safe place. But the speculation is that invaders found them, robbed them, and likely killed them (2 Chronicles 22:1).
521:20It seems that the writer reflects this sentiment. For the first time in reporting the death of a king, the writer doesn’t bother to refer readers to other sources of information about him. To find that, they have to go to the parallel story in 2 Kings 8:23.
621:20The City of David was the original part of town before Solomon expanded up the hill to add the Temple and palace complexes.
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Famine, murder, and revolution in IsraelVideos
2He had six brothers, all the sons of Jehoshaphat: two were named Azariah. [1] The others were Jehiel, Zechairah, Michael, and Shephatiah. 3Their father loaded them up on expensive gifts: silver, gold, and other riches. He even gave them walled cities to rule. But he gave the kingdom of Judah to Jehoram, his oldest son.
4When Jehoram became king, he secured his position by assassinating the competition: his six brothers. He killed some of the royal officials, as well.
5Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. And he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6He was just another king who got on the wrong side of God and stayed there—like the evil kings in Ahab’s family. He married Ahab’s daughter. The LORD saw all of this and didn’t like it.
7But the LORD didn’t end Judah. That’s a tribute to his love for David. God had promised him that his descendants would always rule the nation.
Edom fights for its freedom
8The nation of Edom decided this would be a good time to revolt and declared their independence from Judah’s domination. 9Jehoram led his entire chariot corps into Edom, where he launched a night attack. Edom’s army surrounded them. [2]10Edom’s revolution not only succeeded, it endured. Judah has no leverage there to this day. Even the town of Libnah [3] took the opportunity then to rebel. This happened because Jehoram turned his back on the LORD, the God of his ancestors. 11Jehoram rebuilt pagan shrines on hilltops throughout Judah, so people could worship other gods. He led the nation away from God.
Plague: Elijah’s prediction
12The prophet Elijah wrote him a letter about that. He said “This is a message from the LORD, the God of your ancestor David:‘You haven’t followed the good example of your father Jehoshaphat or of your grandfather Asa.
14For this, the LORD is going to strike you with a plague. The disease will affect everyone and everything dear to you, including your children and your wives. 15You’ll get sick, too, with an intestinal disease. Before it’s over, your bowels will prolapse. They’ll slip out of you, and the disease will get worse day after day.’”
Raiders decimate the king’s family and wealth
16The LORD prodded the Philistines and African Arabs who lived near Ethiopia to attack Judah. 17They raided and robbed cities at will. They even got their hands on the king’s wealth, along with most of his family, including his sons and wives. [4] They left him with only his youngest son, Jehoahaz.Jehoram’s agonizing death
18Jehoram’s intestinal disease advanced and became incurable. 19He suffered for two years with prolapsed bowels. He died an agonizing death. The people of Jerusalem didn’t honor him with a bonfire, like ones others had made for previous kings.20He became king when he was 32 years old. He reigned for eight years. When he died, no one cared. [5] The people buried him in the City of David, [6] but not in any of the tombs reserved for the kings.
Footnotes
In the ancient Hebrew copies of 2 Chronicles, the names appear with slightly different spellings, though they represent the same name: Azarya and Azaryahu. Some say the second name may have been a copying mistake that a later scribe tried to fix by adding a syllable at the end. On the other hand, maybe the king had the two Azariah’s by two wives, each of whom liked the name. As in, perhaps, one royal wife telling the other, “You knew I wanted to name my son Azariah and you stole the name. Well, I’m going to name my son Azariah, too, instead of Azariah II.”
This story in 2 Kings 8 reports that Judah’s forces broke through the line and didn’t stop until they got back to Judah (verse 21).
Libnah was a town in the Judean foothills, along the borders of Judah in the hill country and Philistine territory on the coast.
This stops short of saying the invaders took Jerusalem. Some scholars speculate that when the king found out about the invasion, he did what many others did. He sent his family and his wealth to a safe place. But the speculation is that invaders found them, robbed them, and likely killed them (2 Chronicles 22:1).
It seems that the writer reflects this sentiment. For the first time in reporting the death of a king, the writer doesn’t bother to refer readers to other sources of information about him. To find that, they have to go to the parallel story in 2 Kings 8:23.
The City of David was the original part of town before Solomon expanded up the hill to add the Temple and palace complexes.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
