He hid out with his nurse in the Lord’s temple ¹  for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.

In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Jehoram became king over Israel in Samaria; ¹  he ruled for twelve years.

You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods.

His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord’s word to Jehu, ¹  “Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” ²  That is exactly what happened. ³ 

To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship ¹  the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave ²  the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem. ¹  He imposed on the land a special tax ²  of one hundred talents ³  of silver and a talent of gold.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother ²  was Hamutal, ³  the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all ¹  lives (whom I serve), ²  if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, ³  I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you. ⁴ 

The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” ¹ 

The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” ¹ 

They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. ¹  They paid allegiance to ²  worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. ³  They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. ⁴ 

The king stood by the pillar and renewed ¹  the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow ²  the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, ³  by carrying out the terms ⁴  of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. ⁵ 

The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease ¹  until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, ²  while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

During his reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king. ¹ 

So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. ¹  At that same time Libnah also rebelled.

(12:2) In Jehu’s seventh year Jehoash became king; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba.

In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash’s reign over Judah, Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria ¹  for sixteen years.

In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Judah’s King Amaziah, son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Joash became king over Israel. He reigned for forty-one years in Samaria. ¹ 

Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s ¹  reign over Judah. He reigned for one month ²  in Samaria.