1The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place because the group of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had killed all the older sons. So, Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, became king of Judah.
2Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to rule, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, who was the granddaughter of Omri.
3He also followed the ways of Ahab's family, because his mother advised him to do evil.
4He did what Yahweh considered evil, just like Ahab's family had done, because after his father died, they were his advisors, leading to his ruin.
5He also followed their advice and went with Jehoram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight against Hazael, king of Syria, at Ramoth Gilead. The Syrians wounded Joram.
6Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received at Ramah while fighting Hazael, king of Syria. Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit Jehoram, because he was sick.
7Ahaziah's downfall came from God when he visited Joram. When he arrived, he went with Joram to meet Jehu, son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had appointed to destroy Ahab's family.
8As Jehu was carrying out judgment on Ahab's family, he found the officials of Judah and the nephews of Ahaziah who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them.
9He searched for Ahaziah. They captured him (he was hiding in Samaria) and brought him to Jehu, who killed him. They buried him because they said, "He was the son of Jehoshaphat, who sincerely sought Yahweh." Ahaziah's family did not have the strength to keep the kingdom.
10When Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she took action and killed all the royal descendants of the house of Judah.
11But Jehoshabeath, the king's daughter, secretly took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, from among the king's sons who were being killed, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest (and Ahaziah's sister), hid him from Athaliah, so she would not kill him.
12He remained hidden with them in God's temple for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land.