8. While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king.
9. Jehoram, his officers, and his cavalry marched to Edom, where the Edomite army surrounded them. He escaped during the night,
10. but Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah rebelled at that time.Those things happened because Jehoram had turned away from the Lord, the God his ancestors had worshipped.
11. Jehoram even built local shrines in the hills of Judah and let the people sin against the Lord by worshipping foreign gods.
12. One day, Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet that said:I have a message for you from the Lord God your ancestor David worshipped. He knows that you have not followed the example of Jehoshaphat your father or Asa your grandfather.
13. Instead you have acted like those sinful kings of Israel and have encouraged the people of Judah to stop worshipping the Lord, just as Ahab and his descendants did. You even murdered your own brothers, who were better men than you.
14. Because you have done these terrible things, the Lord will severely punish the people in your kingdom, including your own family, and he will destroy everything you own.
15. You will be struck with a painful stomach disease and suffer until you die.
16. The Lord later caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Ethiopians to become angry with Jehoram.
17. They invaded Judah and stole the royal property from the palace, and they led Jehoram's wives and sons away as prisoners. The only one left behind was Ahaziah, his youngest son.
18. After this happened, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable stomach disease.
19. About two years later, Jehoram died in terrible pain. No bonfire was built to honour him, even though the people had done this for his ancestors.