Ahaziah King of Judah^(A)

²⁵ In the twelfth^(B) year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. ²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah,^(C) a granddaughter of Omri^(D) king of Israel. ²⁷ He followed the ways of the house of Ahab^(E) and did evil^(F) in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.

²⁸ Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.^(G) The Arameans wounded Joram; ²⁹ so King Joram returned to Jezreel^(H) to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth^[a] in his battle with Hazael^(I) king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah^(J) son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded.

²¹ The king had a fleet of trading ships^[a] manned by Hiram’s^[b] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²² King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.^{(A) 23} All the kings^(B) of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. ²⁴ Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift^(C)—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,^(D) and twelve thousand horses,^[c] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled^(E) over all the kings from the Euphrates River^(F) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.^{(G) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.