¹The dwellers of Jerusalem made king Ahaziah, his youngest son, in his place, for the marauding band that came with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the former ones. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah became king.

²Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.

³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in acting wickedly.

⁴He did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab, for they were counselors to him after the death of his father, to his destruction.

⁵He also walked by their counsel, and he went with Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel to the war against Hazael, king of Aram at Ramoth in Gilead; and the Arameans struck Joram.

⁶He returned to get himself healed in Jezreel, because of the blows that they had struck him at Ramah when he fought with Hazael, king of Aram. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was sick.

⁷From God came the down-treading of Ahaziah, in his going to Joram; for when he came, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

⁸And it happened, when Jehu was entering into judgment against the house of Ahab, that he found the officials of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them.

⁹He searched for Ahaziah, and they captured him while he was hiding in Samaria; and they brought him to Jehu, and put him to death, and buried him, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who inquired of Yahweh with all his heart. And there was no one in the house of Ahaziah to retain strength for the kingdom.

¹⁰And Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, and she rose and subdued all the offspring of the kingdom of the house of Judah.

¹¹Jehoshabeath the daughter of the king took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from the middle of the sons of the king who were being put to death, and put him and his suckling nurse in the chamber of the beds. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest—for she was the sister of Ahaziah—hid him from the face of Athaliah, and she did not put him to death.

¹²He was with them in the house of God, hiding six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.