1 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the Arabians into the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned.

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

3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was counseling him to do wickedly.

4 Therefore he did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

5 He also followed their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians struck Joram.

6 And he returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds with which he was struck at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

7 Now Ahaziah’s destruction, when he went to Joram, was from God; for when he came, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

8 And it happened, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them.

9 He also sought for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, because, they said, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Jehovah with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no one to retain power over the kingdom.

10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and commanded to destroy all the royal seed of the house of Judah.

11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being killed, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.

12 And he was hiding with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.