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Ahaz Reigns in Judah

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was (A)twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. (B)He even burned his son as an offering,[a] (C)according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. (D)And he sacrificed and made offerings (E)on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

(F)Then Rezin king of Syria and (G)Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz (H)but could not conquer him. At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered (I)Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from (J)Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. (K)So Ahaz sent messengers to (L)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” Ahaz also (M)took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. (N)And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus (O)and took it, carrying its people captive to (P)Kir, and he killed Rezin.

10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet (Q)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to (R)Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details. 11 And Uriah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uriah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus. 12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. (S)Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it 13 and burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured his drink offering and threw the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 And (T)the bronze altar that was before the Lord he removed (U)from the front of the house, from the place between (V)his altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of (W)his altar. 15 And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn (X)the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. And throw on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice, but (Y)the bronze altar shall be for me to enquire by.” 16 Uriah the priest did all this, as King Ahaz commanded.

17 And King Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands and removed the basin from them, and he took down (Z)the sea[b] from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pedestal. 18 And the covered way for the Sabbath that had been built inside the house and the outer entrance for the king he caused to go round the house of the Lord, because of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz that he did, are they not written (AA)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers and (AB)was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 16:3 Or made his son pass through the fire
  2. 2 Kings 16:17 Compare 1 Kings 7:23

Ahaz King of Judah(A)

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz(B) son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right(C) in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel(D) and even sacrificed his son(E) in the fire, engaging in the detestable(F) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense(G) at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.(H)

Then Rezin(I) king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him. At that time, Rezin(J) king of Aram recovered Elath(K) for Aram by driving out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.

Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser(L) king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save(M) me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift(N) to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus(O) and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir(P) and put Rezin to death.

10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah(Q) the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. 11 So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. 12 When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings[a](R) on it. 13 He offered up his burnt offering(S) and grain offering,(T) poured out his drink offering,(U) and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings(V) against the altar. 14 As for the bronze altar(W) that stood before the Lord, he brought it from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar.

15 King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: “On the large new altar, offer the morning(X) burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.”(Y) 16 And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

17 King Ahaz cut off the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base.(Z) 18 He took away the Sabbath canopy[b] that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria.(AA)

19 As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20 Ahaz rested(AB) with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 16:12 Or and went up
  2. 2 Kings 16:18 Or the dais of his throne (see Septuagint)