³ In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired^(A) them.

²⁴ Ahaz gathered together the furnishings^(A) from the temple of God^(B) and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors^(C) of the Lord’s temple and set up altars^(D) at every street corner in Jerusalem.

⁷ They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense^(A) or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,^(A) my immediate response was not to consult any human being.^(B)

³³ But seek first his kingdom^(A) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.^(B)

¹⁰ Whatever^(A) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,^(B) for in the realm of the dead,^(C) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.^(D)

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God^(A) of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols.

¹⁴ As for the bronze altar^(A) 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^(B) 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.”^{(C) 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.^{(D) 18} He took away the Sabbath canopy^[a] 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.^(E)