22

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

¹Then 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. ²Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was⚓Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri. ³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. ⁴Therefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵He also followed their advice, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. ⁶⚓Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received 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.
⁷His going to Joram ⚓was God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s downfall; for when he arrived, ⚓he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, ⚓whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸And it happened, when Jehu was ⚓executing judgment on 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⚓Then he searched 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 the Lord with all his heart.”
So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

¹⁰⚓Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. ¹¹But 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 murdered, 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. ¹²And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

22

猶大王亞哈謝

（王下8．25－29；9．21－28）

¹耶路撒冷的居民立約蘭的小兒子亞哈謝接續他作王，因為跟隨阿拉伯人來攻營的軍兵把亞哈謝所有的兄長都殺了；猶大王約蘭的兒子亞哈謝就作了王。 ²亞哈謝登基的時候年四十二歲⚓，在耶路撒冷作王一年。他母親名叫亞她利雅，是暗利的孫女。 ³亞哈謝也行亞哈家的道，因為他母親給他主謀，使他行惡。 ⁴他行耶和華眼中看為惡的事，像亞哈家一樣；因他父親死後，他們給他主謀，使他敗壞。 ⁵他也聽從他們的計謀，與以色列王亞哈的兒子約蘭同往基列的拉末去，與亞蘭王哈薛交戰。亞蘭人打傷了約蘭， ⁶他回到耶斯列，醫治在拉末⚓與亞蘭王哈薛打仗時被擊打所受的傷。約蘭的兒子猶大王亞哈謝⚓因為亞哈的兒子約蘭病了，就下到耶斯列看望他。
⁷亞哈謝去見約蘭而遇害，這是出乎上帝；因為他一到就同約蘭出去攻擊寧示的孫子耶戶；這耶戶是耶和華所膏，使他剪除亞哈家的。 ⁸耶戶向亞哈家施行懲罰的時候，遇見猶大的眾領袖和亞哈謝的姪子們正服事亞哈謝，就把他們都殺了。 ⁹亞哈謝躲在撒瑪利亞，耶戶尋找他，眾人把他拿住，送到耶戶那裏，就殺了他。他們把他埋葬，因他們說，他是那盡心尋求耶和華之約沙法的兒子。這樣，亞哈謝的家無力保住國權。

亞她利雅篡位

（王下11．1－3）

¹⁰亞哈謝的母親亞她利雅見她兒子死了，就起來剿滅猶大王室所有的後裔。 ¹¹但王的女兒約示巴將亞哈謝的兒子約阿施從那被殺的王子中偷出來，把他和他的奶媽藏在臥房裏。約示巴是約蘭王的女兒，亞哈謝的妹妹，祭司耶何耶大的妻子。她藏了約阿施，躲避亞她利雅，免受殺害。 ¹²亞她利雅治理這地的時候，約阿施和他們一同在上帝殿裏藏了六年。