II Chronicles 21:2
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Jehoram’s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; these were all sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Never surely did any kingdom change its king so much for the worse as Judah did, when Jehoram, one of the vilest, succeeded Jehoshaphat, one of the best. Thus were they punished for not making a better use of Jehoshaphat's good government, and their disaffectedness (or coldness at least) to his reformation, Ch2 20:33. Those that knew not now to value a good king are justly plagued with a bad one. Here is, I. Jehoram's elevation to the throne (Ch2 21:1-3). II. The wicked course he took to establish himself in it, by the murder of his brethren (Ch2 21:4). III. The idolatries and other wickedness he was guilty of (Ch2 21:5, Ch2 21:6, Ch2 21:11). IV. The prophecy of Elijah against him (Ch2 21:12-15). V. The judgments of God upon him, in the revolt of his subjects from him (Ch2 21:8-10) and the success of his enemies against him (Ch2 21:16, Ch2 21:17). VI. His miserable sickness and inglorious exit (Ch2 21:18-20). VII. The preservation of the house of David notwithstanding (Ch2 21:7).
Open source ↗21:2-7 Jehoram, whose wife was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (18:1; 21:6; 22:2), was the first king of David’s line to receive a totally negative evaluation. His murders (21:4) seriously threatened the continuation of the dynasty, which was only preserved because of the Lord’s own loyal faithfulness to David (21:7). On three other occasions, violence was perpetrated against the royal family that all but ended the dynasty (see 21:17; 22:8-9, 10-11).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly.” The Levites, however, did not make haste.
So they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel. And when they came to Jerusalem,
So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.”
For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.
As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and His temple.
When Jehoram had established himself over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened himself by putting to the sword all his brothers along with some of the princes of Israel.
No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.
And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
Since Damascus had defeated him, he sacrificed to their gods and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But these gods were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.