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2 Chronicles 28
New Living Translation

Ahaz Rules in Judah

28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, as his ancestor David had done. 2 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire.[a] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.

5 Because of all this, the Lord his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. 6 In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel’s king, killed 120,000 of Judah’s troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 7 Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son; Azrikam, the king’s palace commander; and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 8 The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.

9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there in Samaria when the army of Israel returned home. He went out to meet them and said, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah and let you defeat them. But you have gone too far, killing them without mercy, and all heaven is disturbed. 10 And now you are planning to make slaves of these people from Judah and Jerusalem. What about your own sins against the Lord your God? 11 Listen to me and return these prisoners you have taken, for they are your own relatives. Watch out, because now the Lord’s fierce anger has been turned against you!”

12 Then some of the leaders of Israel[b]—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—agreed with this and confronted the men returning from battle. 13 “You must not bring the prisoners here!” they declared. “We cannot afford to add to our sins and guilt. Our guilt is already great, and the Lord’s fierce anger is already turned against Israel.”

14 So the warriors released the prisoners and handed over the plunder in the sight of the leaders and all the people. 15 Then the four men just mentioned by name came forward and distributed clothes from the plunder to the prisoners who were naked. They provided clothing and sandals to wear, gave them enough food and drink, and dressed their wounds with olive oil. They put those who were weak on donkeys and took all the prisoners back to their own people in Jericho, the city of palms. Then they returned to Samaria.

Ahaz Closes the Temple

16 At that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help. 17 The armies of Edom had again invaded Judah and taken captives. 18 And the Philistines had raided towns located in the foothills of Judah[c] and in the Negev of Judah. They had already captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. 19 The Lord was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah,[d] for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord.

20 So when King Tiglath-pileser[e] of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him. 21 Ahaz took valuable items from the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and from the homes of his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But this did not help him.

22 Even during this time of trouble, King Ahaz continued to reject the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, “Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them.” But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah.

24 The king took the various articles from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s Temple so that no one could worship there, and he set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign and everything he did, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal cemetery of the kings of Judah. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.

Footnotes

  1. 28:3 Or even making his sons pass through the fire.
  2. 28:12 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
  3. 28:18 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  4. 28:19 Masoretic Text reads of Israel; also in 28:23, 27. The author of Chronicles sees Judah as representative of the true Israel. (Some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version read of Judah.)
  5. 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser, a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.
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2 Chronicles 28
Lexham English Bible

The Reign of Ahaz

28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh like David his ancestor.[a] 2 But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten idols for the Baals. 3 And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable practices of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every flourishing tree.

5 Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram[b] who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought them to Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack. 6 And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed in one day one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah, all men of strength, because they forsook Yahweh the God of their ancestors.[c] 7 And Zikri, a mighty warrior of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the commander of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king. 8 And the Israelites captured two hundred thousand of their brothers, women, sons, and daughters. And they also plundered much booty from them and brought the booty to Samaria.

9 Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded was his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, “Look, it is on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[d] against Judah that he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens. 10 So now, you yourselves plan to subdue people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves and female servants for yourselves. Is there not also guilt on your part[e] against Yahweh your God? 11 So now, listen to me and return the captives of your brothers whom you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of Yahweh is against you.”

12 Then men from the heads of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Jehohanan, Berekiah the son of Meshillemoth, Hezekiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—stood against those returning from the fight. 13 And they said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for it is as guilt against Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and there is great anger against Israel.” 14 So the soldiers left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. 15 Then the men designated by name arose and took the captives and from the plunder clothed all their nakedness. So they clothed them, gave them sandals, gave them food to eat, gave them water to drink, anointed them, and guided them with the donkeys provided for all those who stumbled, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, next to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria to help him, 17 since again the Edomites came and struck against Judah and took captives. 18 And the Philistines sent raids into the cities of the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah. And they captured Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Socoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. 19 For Yahweh subdued Judah for the sake of Ahaz, king of Israel, for he created disorder in Judah and acted unfaithfully against Yahweh. 20 Then Tiglath-Pileser[f] the king of Assyria came against him and brought trouble for him, instead of helping him,[g] 21 for Ahaz took a portion from the house of Yahweh and the house of the king and the princes, and he gave it to the king of Assyria, but it was no help to him.

22 And in the time of his distress, King Ahaz continued to act unfaithfully against Yahweh. 23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the king of Aram[h] helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me.” But they were a disaster[i] to him and to all Israel. 24 Then Ahaz gathered the objects of the house of God, and he cut the objects of the house of God to pieces. And he shut the doors of the house of Yahweh and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 And in every city[j] of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he provoked Yahweh, the God of his ancestors,[k] to anger.

26 Now the remainder of his words and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written upon the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 And Ahaz slept with his ancestors,[l] and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the burial site of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:1 Or “father”
  2. 2 Chronicles 28:5 Or “Syria”
  3. 2 Chronicles 28:6 Or “fathers”
  4. 2 Chronicles 28:9 Or “fathers”
  5. 2 Chronicles 28:10 Literally “Is there not only you with yourselves guilt?”
  6. 2 Chronicles 28:20 The Hebrew reads “Tilgath-Pilneser”
  7. 2 Chronicles 28:20 Literally “and did not strengthen him”
  8. 2 Chronicles 28:23 Or “Syria”
  9. 2 Chronicles 28:23 Literally “a cause of stumbling”
  10. 2 Chronicles 28:25 Literally “in all city and city”
  11. 2 Chronicles 28:25 Or “fathers”
  12. 2 Chronicles 28:27 Or “fathers”
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2 Chronicles 27
2 Chronicles 29
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