Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, which stated: “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘You have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah,
Parallel translations
- WEB A letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “Yahweh, the God of David your father, says, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
- KJV And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
- NKJV And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the Lord God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
- NASB Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat and the ways of Asa king of Judah,
- NLT Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram this letter: “This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: You have not followed the good example of your father, Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King Asa of Judah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A letter from the prophet Elijah confronted Jehoram for abandoning the godly ways of his ancestors. God sent a clear warning before judgment fell.
Overview
Jehoram received a written rebuke from Elijah, charging him with departing from the faithful paths of Jehoshaphat and Asa. The letter shows God graciously warning even a wicked king before judgment. It models the prophetic call to repentance that precedes God's discipline.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Chr 14:2–5And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
- 2 Chr 17:3–4Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek out the Baals,
- 2 Kgs 2:1Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal,
- 1 Kgs 15:11And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.
- Dan 5:25–29Now this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
- 2 Kgs 2:11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.
- Jer 36:2“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today.
- Dan 5:5At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
- 1 Kgs 22:43And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
- Jer 36:23And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.
- Jer 36:28–32“Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.
- Ezek 2:9–10Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,
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Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 21:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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