Ahaz King of Judah^(A)

28 Ahaz^(B) 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 in the eyes of the Lord. ² He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols^(C) for worshiping the Baals. ³ He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(D) and sacrificed his children^(E) in the fire, engaging in the detestable^(F) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

⁵ Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram.^(G) The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus.

He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. ⁶ In one day Pekah^(H) son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah^(I)—because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁷ Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings^[a] of Assyria^(A) for help. ¹⁷ The Edomites^(B) had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,^{(C) 18} while the Philistines^(D) had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon^(E) and Gederoth,^(F) as well as Soko,^(G) Timnah^(H) and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. ¹⁹ The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,^[b] for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful^(I) to the Lord. ²⁰ Tiglath-Pileser^[c](J) king of Assyria^(K) came to him, but he gave him trouble^(L) instead of help.^{(M) 21} Ahaz^(N) took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.^(O)

²² In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful^(P) to the Lord. ²³ He offered sacrifices to the gods^(Q) of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.”^(R) But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.^(S)

²⁴ Ahaz gathered together the furnishings^(T) from the temple of God^(U) and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors^(V) of the Lord’s temple and set up altars^(W) at every street corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

²⁶ The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz rested^(X) with his ancestors and was buried^(Y) in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.