12. Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet. The letter said:This is what the Lord says. He is the God your father David followed. The Lord says, “Jehoram, you have not lived as your father Jehoshaphat lived. You have not lived as Asa king of Judah lived.
13. But you have lived as the kings of Israel lived. You have led the people of Judah and Jerusalem into sinning against God. That is what Ahab and his family did. You have killed your brothers. And they were better than you.
14. So now the Lord is about to punish your people terribly. He will punish your children, wives and everything you own.
15. You will have a terrible disease in your intestines. It will become worse every day. Finally it will cause your intestines to come out.”
16. The Lord caused the Philistines and the Arabs to be angry with Jehoram. They lived near the Cushites.
17. So the Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah. They took away all the wealth of Jehoram’s palace, as well as his sons and wives. Only Jehoram’s youngest son, Ahaziah, was left.
18. After these things happened, the Lord gave Jehoram a disease in his intestines. It could not be cured.