1. Then Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king in his place.
2. Jehoram’s brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. They were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
3. Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold and valuable things. He also gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the first son.
4. Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom. Then he killed all his brothers with a sword. He also killed some of the leaders of Israel.
5. He was 32 years old when he began to rule. And he ruled eight years in Jerusalem.
6. He lived as the kings of Israel had lived. He lived as Ahab’s family had lived. This was because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong.
7. But the Lord would not destroy David’s family. This was because of the agreement he had made with David. The Lord had promised that one of David’s descendants would always rule.