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King Ahaz of Judah

(2 Chronicles 28.1-27)

16 Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah in the seventeenth year of Pekah's rule in Israel. He was 20 years old at the time, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years.

Ahaz wasn't like his ancestor David. Instead, he disobeyed the Lord (A) and was even more sinful than the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.

5-6 (B) While Ahaz was ruling Judah, the king of Edom recaptured the town of Elath from Judah and forced out the people of Judah. Edomites[a] then moved into Elath, and they still live there.

About the same time, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched to Jerusalem and attacked, but they could not capture it.

Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria that said, “Your Majesty, King Rezin and King Pekah are attacking me, your loyal servant. Please come and rescue me.” Along with the message, Ahaz sent silver and gold from the Lord's temple and from the palace treasury as a gift for the Assyrian king.

As soon as Tiglath Pileser received the message, he and his troops marched to Syria. He captured the capital city of Damascus, then he took the people living there to the town of Kir as prisoners and killed King Rezin.[b]

10 Later, Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser. And while Ahaz was there, he saw an altar and sent a model of it back to Uriah the priest, along with the plans for building one. 11 Uriah followed the plans and built an altar exactly like the one in Damascus, finishing it just before Ahaz came back.

12 When Ahaz returned, he went to see the altar and to offer sacrifices on it. He walked up to the altar 13 and poured wine over it. Then he offered sacrifices to please the Lord, to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessings.[c] 14 (C) After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside,[d] so his new altar would be right in front of the Lord's temple. 15 He told Uriah the priest:

From now on, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as all gifts of grain and wine are to be offered on this altar. The sacrifices for the people and for the king must also be offered here. Sprinkle the blood from all the sacrifices on it, but leave the bronze altar for me to use for prayer and finding out what God wants me to do.

16 Uriah did everything Ahaz told him.

17 (D) Ahaz also had the side panels and the small bowls taken off the movable stands in the Lord's temple. He had the large bronze bowl, called the Sea, removed from the bronze bulls on which it rested and had it placed on a stand made of stone. 18 He took down the special tent that was used for worship on the Sabbath[e] and closed up the private entrance that the kings of Judah used for going into the temple. He did all these things to please Tiglath Pileser.

19 Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 20 (E) Ahaz died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem,[f] and his son Hezekiah became king.

Footnotes

  1. 16.5,6 the king of Edom … Edomites: The Hebrew text has “King Rezin of Syria … Syrians”; in Hebrew, there is only one letter difference between “Edom” and “Aram,” which is the usual Hebrew name for Syria in the Bible (see also 2 Chronicles 28.17).
  2. 16.9 King Rezin: This probably took place around 734 b.c., before the events in 15.29.
  3. 16.13 offered … blessings: In traditional translations, these sacrifices are usually called “whole burnt offerings,” “grain offerings,” and “peace offerings.” These are described in Leviticus 1–3.
  4. 16.14 aside: Hebrew “to the north.”
  5. 16.18 the special tent … Sabbath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 16.20 Jerusalem: See the note at 8.24.

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)