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2 Chronicles 28
Legacy Standard Bible

Ahaz Reigns over Judah

28 (A)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and (B)he did not do what was right in the sight of Yahweh, as David his father had done. 2 (C)But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also (D)made molten images for the Baals. 3 Moreover, (E)he offered offerings in smoke in the valley of Ben-hinnom and (F)burned his sons in the fire, (G)according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel. 4 He also sacrificed and (H)offered offerings in smoke on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Carried Away by Aram

5 So, (I)Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they struck him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter. 6 Indeed, (J)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed in Judah 120,000 in one day, all men of valor, because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.

8 (K)Then the sons of Israel carried away captive of (L)their brothers 200,000 women, sons, and daughters; and they plundered also a great deal of spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of Yahweh was there, whose name was Oded; and (M)he went out before the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because of the (N)wrath of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, against Judah, He has given them into your hand, and you have killed them in a rage (O)which has even reached heaven. 10 So now you are [a]intending to (P)subdue for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have your own matters of guilt against Yahweh your God? 11 So now, listen to me and return the captives (Q)whom you carried away from your brothers, (R)for the burning anger of Yahweh is against you.” 12 Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—arose against those who were coming from the engagement of the army, 13 and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are [b]intending to bring upon us guilt against Yahweh adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that His burning anger is against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. 15 Then (S)the men who were designated by name arose, took hold of the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and (T)gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, (U)the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Ahaz Sends to Assyria for Help

16 (V)At that time King Ahaz sent to the [c]kings of Assyria for help. 17 (W)Indeed, again the Edomites had come and struck Judah and carried away captives. 18 (X)And the Philistines also had raided the cities of the [d]Shephelah and of the [e]Negev of Judah, and had captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its towns, Timnah with its towns, and Gimzo with its towns, and they settled there. 19 For Yahweh humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of (Y)Israel, for he had caused it to be out of control in Judah and was very unfaithful to Yahweh. 20 So (Z)Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and distressed him instead of strengthening him. 21 (AA)Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of Yahweh and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

22 Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz (AB)became yet more unfaithful to Yahweh. 23 (AC)Indeed, he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had struck him, and said, “(AD)Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the stumbling of him and all Israel. 24 Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God. Then he (AE)cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he (AF)closed the doors of the house of Yahweh and (AG)made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 Now in each and every city of Judah he made high places to offer offerings in smoke to other gods, and provoked Yahweh, the God of his fathers, to anger. 26 (AH)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 (AI)So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of (AJ)Israel; and Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:10 Lit saying
  2. 2 Chronicles 28:13 Lit saying
  3. 2 Chronicles 28:16 Ancient versions king
  4. 2 Chronicles 28:18 Or lowland
  5. 2 Chronicles 28:18 South country
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2 Chronicles 28
New English Translation

Ahaz’s Reign

28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David.[a] 2 He followed in the footsteps of[b] the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. 3 He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire,[c] a horrible sin practiced by the nations[d] whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians[e] defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus.[f] He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him.[g] 6 In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors.[h] 7 Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 8 The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it[i] back to Samaria.

9 Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice.[j] 10 And now you are planning[k] to enslave[l] the people[m] of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? 11 Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you!”[n] 12 So some of[o] the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted[p] those returning from the battle. 13 They said to them, “Don’t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord?[q] Our guilt is already great, and the Lord is very angry at Israel.”[r] 14 So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. 15 Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked.[s] So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin.[t] They put the ones who couldn’t walk on donkeys.[u] They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria.

16 At that time King Ahaz asked the king[v] of Assyria for help. 17 The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. 18 The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the foothills[w] and the Negev.[x] They captured and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages. 19 The Lord humiliated[y] Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel,[z] for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very[aa] unfaithful to the Lord. 20 King Tiglath-Pileser[ab] of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support.[ac] 21 Ahaz gathered riches[ad] from the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.

22 During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him.[ae] He reasoned,[af] “Since the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they caused him and all Israel to stumble. 24 Ahaz gathered the items in God’s temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered the Lord God of his ancestors.

26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.[ag] 27 Ahaz passed away[ah] and was buried in the city of Jerusalem; they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:1 tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, like David his father.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 28:2 tn Heb “he walked in the ways of.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 28:3 sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB “burnt his sons in the fire”; NASB “burned his sons in the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
  4. 2 Chronicles 28:3 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 28:5 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. 2 Chronicles 28:5 tn Heb “and took captive from him a great captivity and brought [them] to Damascus.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 28:5 tn Heb “who struck him down with a great striking.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 28:6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 25).
  9. 2 Chronicles 28:8 tn Heb “the loot.” The pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
  10. 2 Chronicles 28:9 tn Heb “and you killed them with anger [that] reaches as far as heaven.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 28:10 tn Heb “saying.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 28:10 tn Heb “to enslave as male servants and female servants.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 28:10 tn Heb “sons.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 28:11 tn Heb “for the rage of the anger of the Lord is upon you.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 28:12 tn Heb “men from.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 28:12 tn Heb “arose against.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 28:13 tn Heb “for to the guilt of the Lord upon us you are saying to add to our sins and our guilty deeds.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 28:13 tn Heb “for great is [the] guilt to us and rage of anger is upon Israel.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 28:15 tn Heb “and the men who were designated by names arose and took the captives and all their naked ones they clothed from the loot.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 28:15 tn Heb “and poured oil on them.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 28:15 tn Heb “and they led them on donkeys, with respect to everyone stumbling.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 28:16 tc Most Hebrew mss read the plural, “kings,” but one Hebrew ms, the LXX and Vulgate read the singular “king.” Note the singular in v. 20.
  23. 2 Chronicles 28:18 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  24. 2 Chronicles 28:18 sn The Negev is an area of central, southern Judah, south of the hill country and Beer Sheba and west of the rift valley.
  25. 2 Chronicles 28:19 tn Or “subdued.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 28:19 sn That is, “of Judah.” Frequently in 2 Chronicles “Israel” is substituted for “Judah.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 28:19 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the cognate nominal form to emphasize the degree of Ahaz’s unfaithfulness.
  28. 2 Chronicles 28:20 tn Heb “Tilgath-Pilneser,” a variant spelling of Tiglath-Pileser.
  29. 2 Chronicles 28:20 tn Heb “and he caused him distress and did not strengthen him.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 28:21 tn Heb “divided up,” but some read חִלֵּץ (khillets, “despoiled”).
  31. 2 Chronicles 28:23 tn Heb “the gods of Damascus, the ones who had defeated him.” The words “he thought” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The perspective is that of Ahaz, not the narrator! Another option is that “the kings” has been accidentally omitted after “gods of.” See v. 23b.
  32. 2 Chronicles 28:23 tn Heb “said.”
  33. 2 Chronicles 28:26 tn Heb “As for the rest of his events, and all his ways, the former and the latter, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
  34. 2 Chronicles 28:27 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
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