أخزيا ملك يهوذا
(2مل 8:25-29؛ 2مل 9:27-29)1 فأقامَ سُكَّانُ أورُشليمَ أخَزْيا بنَ يورامَ الأصغَرَ مَلِكا مكانَ أبـيهِ، لأنَّ الغُزاةَ الّذينَ جاؤُوا معَ العربِ إلى المُعَسكرِ قتَلوا جميعَ بَنيهِ الكِبار. 2 وكانَ أخَزْيا ابنَ عِشرينَ سنَةً حينَ ملَكَ، وملَكَ سنَةً واحدَةً بِأورُشليمَ، وكانَ اسمُ أُمِّهِ عثَلْيا بِنتَ عَمري. 3 وسلَكَ هوَ أيضا طُرُقَ نَسلِ أخابَ السَّيِّئَةَ، لأنَّ أمَّهُ كانَت تُشيرُ علَيهِ بارْتِكابِ المَعاصي. 4 ففعَلَ الشَّرَّ في نظَرِ الرّبِّ كنَسلِ أخابَ، الّذينَ كانوا مُستَشاريهِ بَعدَ موتِ أبـيهِ، مِمَّا أدَّى إلى هلاكِهِ. 5 فسَلَكَ بِـحسَبِ مَشورَتِهِم حينَ خرَجَ معَ يورامَ بنِ أخابَ مَلِكِ إِسرائيلَ لِقِتالِ حَزائيلَ مَلِكِ آرامَ في راموثَ جِلعادَ. وهُناكَ أصابَ الآراميُّونَ يورامَ بِـجِراحٍ، 6 فرجَعَ إلى يزرَعيلَ ليَتَعالَجَ مِنْ جِراحِهِ، فزارَهُ أخَزْيا هُناكَ في مرَضِهِ.
7 فكانَت مشيئَةُ اللهِ أنْ تكونَ هذِهِ الزِّيارةُ إلى يورامَ سبَبا في هلاكِهِ، لأنَّهُ بَعدَها خرَجَ معَ يورامَ لِقِتالِ ياهو بنِ نَمْشي الّذي مسَحَهُ الرّبُّ مَلِكا ليُبـيدَ نَسلَ أخابَ. 8 وبـينَما كانَ الرّبُّ يستَخدِمُ ياهو لِتَنفيذِ قضائِهِ على نَسلِ أخابَ، لَقيَ ياهو جماعَةً مِنْ أعيانِ يَهوذا وبَني إخوَةِ أخَزْيا المُرافِقينَ لَه فقَتَلَهُم. 9 وأمرَ ياهو رِجالَهُ بِالبَحثِ عَنْ أخَزْيا، فأمسَكوهُ وهوَ مُختَبِـئٌ في السَّامِرةِ وجاؤُوا بهِ إلى ياهو، فقَتَلوهُ ودفَنوهُ إكراما لِجَدِّهِ المَلِكِ يوشافاطَ الّذي عبَدَ الرّبَّ بكُلِّ قلبِهِ. فلم يَبقَ مِنْ نَسلِ أخَزْيا مَنْ يَقدِرُ على ضَبْطِ شُؤونِ المَملَكةِ.
عثليا ملكة يهوذا
(2مل 11:1-3)10 فلمَّا رَأت عثَلْيا أنَّ ابنَها أخَزْيا ماتَ، قتَلَت جميعَ النَّسلِ المَلَكيِّ مِن أهلِ يَهوذا. 11 لكِنَّ يوشَبْعَةَ بِنتَ المَلِكِ يورامَ وزَوجةَ يُوياداعَ الكاهنِ سرَقَت يوآشَ بنَ أخَزْيا أخيها مِنْ بَينِ سائِرِ الأُمَراءِ المَقتولينَ ووَضَعَتهُ معَ مُرضعَتِهِ في إحدى غُرَفِ النَّومِ في هَيكلِ اللهِ، وبِذلِكَ أنقَذَتهُ مِنْ عثَلْيا. 12 فأقامَ هُناكَ سِتَّ سِنينَ مُختَبِئا، وعثَلْيا تَملِكُ على البلادِ.
King Ahaziah of Judah
(2 Kings 8.25-292 9.21-28)1 Some Arabs had led a raid and killed all of King Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, the youngest. So now the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king as his father's successor. 2-3 Ahaziah became king at the age of twenty-two, and he ruled in Jerusalem for one year. Ahaziah also followed the example of King Ahab's family, since his mother Athaliah—the daughter of King Ahab and granddaughter of King Omri of Israel—gave him advice that led him into evil. 4 He sinned against the Lord, because after his father's death other members of King Ahab's family became his advisers, and they led to his downfall. 5 Following their advice, he joined King Joram of Israel in a war against King Hazael of Syria. The armies clashed at Ramoth in Gilead, and Joram was wounded in battle. 6 He returned to the city of Jezreel to recover from his wounds, and Ahaziah went there to visit him.
7 God used this visit to Joram to bring about Ahaziah's downfall. While Ahaziah was there, he and Joram were confronted by a man named Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had chosen to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. 8 As Jehu was carrying out God's sentence on the dynasty, he came across a group made up of Judean leaders and of Ahaziah's nephews that had accompanied Ahaziah on his visit. Jehu killed them all. 9 A search was made for Ahaziah, and he was found hiding in Samaria. They took him to Jehu and put him to death. But they did bury his body out of respect for his grandfather King Jehoshaphat, who had done all he could to serve the Lord.
No member of Ahaziah's family was left who could rule the kingdom.
Queen Athaliah of Judah
(2 Kings 11.1-3)10 As soon as King Ahaziah's mother Athaliah learned of her son's murder, she gave orders for all the members of the royal family of Judah to be killed. 11 Ahaziah had a half sister, Jehosheba, who was married to a priest named Jehoiada. She secretly rescued one of Ahaziah's sons, Joash, took him away from the other princes who were about to be murdered and hid him and a nurse in a bedroom at the Temple. By keeping him hidden, she saved him from death at the hands of Athaliah. 12 For six years he remained there in hiding, while Athaliah ruled as queen.
