9. Jehoram, his officers, and his cavalry marched to Edom, where the Edomite army surrounded them. He escaped during the night,
10. but Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah rebelled at that time.Those things happened because Jehoram had turned away from the Lord, the God his ancestors had worshipped.
11. Jehoram even built local shrines in the hills of Judah and let the people sin against the Lord by worshipping foreign gods.
12. One day, Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet that said:I have a message for you from the Lord God your ancestor David worshipped. He knows that you have not followed the example of Jehoshaphat your father or Asa your grandfather.
13. Instead you have acted like those sinful kings of Israel and have encouraged the people of Judah to stop worshipping the Lord, just as Ahab and his descendants did. You even murdered your own brothers, who were better men than you.