2 Kings 16
Legacy Standard Bible
Ahaz Reigns over Judah
16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, (A)Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. 2 (B)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of Yahweh his God, as David his father had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, (C)and even made his son pass through the fire, (D)according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel. 4 He also (E)sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then (F)Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, (G)but could not [a]overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram restored (H)Elath for Aram and cleared the Judeans out of [b]Elath entirely; and the [c]Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.
Ahaz Sends for Help from Assyria
7 (I)So Ahaz sent messengers to (J)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the [d]hand of the king of Aram and from the [e]hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” 8 (K)Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 (L)So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and (M)seized it and took the people of it away into exile to (N)Kir, and put Rezin to death.
Ahaz Has Urijah Build an Altar
10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet (O)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to (P)Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, [f]before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. 12 So the king came from Damascus, and the king saw the altar; then (Q)the king drew near the altar and [g]made offerings on it, 13 and offered his burnt offering and his meal offering up in smoke, and poured his drink offering and splashed the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 (R)Now as for the bronze altar, which was before Yahweh, [h]he drew it away from the front of the house, from between (S)his altar and the house of Yahweh, and he put it on the north side of his altar. 15 Then King Ahaz [i]commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar offer up in smoke (T)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 offerings; and splash on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But (U)the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
17 Then King Ahaz (V)cut off the borders of the stands and removed the laver from them; he also (W)took down the sea from the bronze oxen which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone. 18 And the covered way for the sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of Yahweh because of the king of Assyria.
Hezekiah Reigns over Judah
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written (X)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 So (Y)Ahaz slept with his fathers and (Z)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 16:5 Lit fight
- 2 Kings 16:6 Heb Eloth
- 2 Kings 16:6 As in some ancient versions; Heb Edomites
- 2 Kings 16:7 Lit palm
- 2 Kings 16:7 Lit palm
- 2 Kings 16:11 Lit until
- 2 Kings 16:12 Or went up on it
- 2 Kings 16:14 Lit he also
- 2 Kings 16:15 Lit commanded him, Urijah
2 Kings 16
King James Version
16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father.
3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
6 At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
8 And Ahaz 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 it for a present to the king of Assyria.
9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
11 And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
12 And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
13 And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.
14 And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the Lord, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the altar.
15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
17 And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon the pavement of stones.
18 And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
2 Kings 16
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 16[a]
Ahaz of Judah. 1 Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the king of Judah, began to reign during the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord as David, his father, had done. 3 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his son in fire. He practiced the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the Israelites. 4 He performed sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hilltops, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but they could not defeat him. 6 It was at this time that Rezin, the king of Aram, reconquered Elath, and the Arameans drove the Judahites out of Elath. The Edomites then settled in Elath and they have dwelt there up to the present.
7 Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come and save me from the hands of the king of Aram and the hands of the king of Israel who have risen up against me.”
8 Ahaz took the silver and the gold from the temple of the Lord and the treasury of the royal palace, and he sent it to the king of Assyria as a gift. 9 The king of Assyria consented to his request, and the king of Assyria attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir.
10 Then King Ahaz traveled to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus, and King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest to Damascus to make a drawing of the altar along with a complete description of its construction. 11 Uriah the priest built an altar according to everything for which King Ahaz had sent him to Damascus. Uriah finished it before King Ahaz returned from Damascus. 12 When the king returned from Damascus, the king saw the altar. The king approached the altar and made an offering on it. 13 He offered up burnt offerings and cereal offerings. He poured out drink offerings and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar. 14 He brought the bronze altar that was before the Lord from the front of the temple, from between the altar and the temple of the Lord, and he placed it on the north side of the altar.
15 King Ahaz gave orders to Uriah the priest, saying, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offerings and the evening cereal offerings, the king’s burnt offerings and his cereal offerings, along with the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and drink offerings of all of the people of the land. Sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices on it, but I will use the bronze altar when I make inquiries.” 16 Uriah the priest did everything that King Ahaz had commanded.
17 King Ahaz cut off the side panels and he removed the basins from the moveable carts, he removed the sea from the bronze oxen underneath it and he placed it on a stone base. 18 He took away the Sabbath canopy[b] that had been built on the temple and the royal entrance outside the temple of the Lord on account of the king of Assyria.
19 Now the rest of the deeds of Ahaz, what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 Ahaz slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his stead.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 16:1 Despite efforts to force Ahaz into a coalition against Assyria, this king prefers to declare himself a vassal of the mighty Tiglath-pileser III. Some of his neighbors take advantage of his difficulties to rid themselves of his yoke. Inspired by what he has seen in other sanctuaries, Ahaz introduces deviant reforms into the temple. Isaiah will try in vain to communicate to Ahaz his own confidence in the Lord (Isa 6–7 and the prophecy of Immanuel). See also 2 Chr 28.
- 2 Kings 16:18 Took away the Sabbath canopy: as a vassal to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, King Ahaz made several religious concessions, such as building a new altar, to please him. Ahaz’s political mistake allowed the Assyrian king to take God’s place as leader in Judah.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
