2 Chronicles 21:12-15

21:12 Jehoram ¹  received this letter from Elijah the prophet: “This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: ‘You ²  have not followed in the footsteps ³  of your father Jehoshaphat and of ⁴  King Asa of Judah, 21:13 but have instead followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. You encouraged the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord, just as the family of Ahab does in Israel. ⁵  You also killed your brothers, members of your father’s family, ⁶  who were better than you. 21:14 So look, the Lord is about to severely afflict ⁷  your people, your sons, your wives, and all you own. 21:15 And you will get a serious, chronic intestinal disease which will cause your intestines to come out.” ⁸ 

[21:12]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[21:12]  ² tn Heb “Because you…” In the Hebrew text this lengthy sentence is completed in vv. 14-15. Because of its length and complexity (and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences), the translation has divided it up into several English sentences.

[21:12]  ³ tn Heb “walked in the ways.”

[21:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the ways of.”

[21:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you walked in the way of the kings of Israel and caused Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to commit adultery, like the house of Ahab causes to commit adultery.”

[21:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house of your father.”

[21:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “to strike with a great striking.”

[21:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and you [will have] a serious illness, an illness of the intestines until your intestines come out because of the illness days upon days.”