2 Chronicles 28:16-27

English Standard Version

^16 (A)At that time King Ahaz sent to the king^[a] of Assyria for help. ¹⁷ For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. ^18 (B)And the Philistines had made raids on ^(C)the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco ^(D)with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. ¹⁹ For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made ^(E)Judah act sinfully^[b] and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ So ^(F)Tiglath-pileser^[c] king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. ^21 (G)For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Ahaz's Idolatry

²² In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. ²³ For ^(H)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, ^(I)“Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. ²⁴ And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and ^(J)cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself ^(K)altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to ^(L)make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers. ^26 (M)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 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for ^(N)they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.