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2 Kings 16
New English Translation

Ahaz’s Reign over Judah

16 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah. 2 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 his God, in contrast to his ancestor David.[a] 3 He followed in the footsteps of[b] the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire,[c] a horrible sin practiced by the nations[d] whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem.[e] They besieged Ahaz,[f] but were unable to conquer him.[g] 6 (At that time King Rezin of Syria[h] recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there.[i] Syrians[j] arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) 7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent.[k] March up and rescue me from the power[l] of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked[m] me.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were[n] in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute[o] to the king of Assyria. 9 The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request;[p] he[q] attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people[r] to Kir and executed Rezin.

10 When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there.[s] King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design.[t] 11 Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus.[u] Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus.[v] 12 When the king arrived back from Damascus and[w] saw the altar, he approached it[x] and offered a sacrifice on it.[y] 13 He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord’s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord’s temple) and put it on the north side of the new[z] altar. 15 King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar[aa] offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.”[ab] 16 So Uriah the priest did exactly as[ac] King Ahaz ordered.

17 King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea”[ad] down from the bronze bulls that supported it[ae] and put it on the stone pavement. 18 He also removed the Sabbath awning[af] that had been built[ag] in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway to the Lord’s temple, on account of the king of Assyria.[ah]

19 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[ai] 20 Ahaz passed away[aj] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 16:2 tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the Lord his God, like David his father.”
  2. 2 Kings 16:3 tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”
  3. 2 Kings 16:3 sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
  4. 2 Kings 16:3 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
  5. 2 Kings 16:5 tn Heb “went up to Jerusalem for battle.”
  6. 2 Kings 16:5 tn That is, Jerusalem, Ahaz’s capital city.
  7. 2 Kings 16:5 tn Heb “they were unable to fight.” The object must be supplied from the preceding sentence. Elsewhere when the Niphal infinitive of לָחָם (lakham) follows the verb יָכֹל (yakhol), the infinitive appears to have the force of “prevail against.” See Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9; and the parallel passage in Isa 7:1.
  8. 2 Kings 16:6 tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ʾaram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ʾedom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.
  9. 2 Kings 16:6 tn Heb “from Elat.”
  10. 2 Kings 16:6 tc The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac version, and some mss of the Targum and Vulgate, read “Syrians” (Heb “Arameans”). The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the LXX, Targums, and Vulgate, reads “Edomites.”
  11. 2 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-Pileser’s subject.
  12. 2 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “hand, palm.”
  13. 2 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “who have arisen against.”
  14. 2 Kings 16:8 tn Heb “that was found.”
  15. 2 Kings 16:8 tn Or “bribe money.”
  16. 2 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “listened to him.”
  17. 2 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “the king of Assyria.”
  18. 2 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “it.”
  19. 2 Kings 16:10 tn Heb “in Damascus.”
  20. 2 Kings 16:10 tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”
  21. 2 Kings 16:11 tn Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”
  22. 2 Kings 16:11 tn Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”
  23. 2 Kings 16:12 tn Heb “and the king.”
  24. 2 Kings 16:12 tn Heb “the altar.”
  25. 2 Kings 16:12 tn Or “ascended it.”
  26. 2 Kings 16:14 tn The word “new” is added in the translation for clarification.
  27. 2 Kings 16:15 tn That is, the newly constructed altar.
  28. 2 Kings 16:15 tn Heb “for me to seek.” The precise meaning of בָּקַר (baqar), “seek,” is uncertain in this context. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189.
  29. 2 Kings 16:16 tn Heb “according to all that.”
  30. 2 Kings 16:17 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
  31. 2 Kings 16:17 tn Heb “that [were] under it.”
  32. 2 Kings 16:18 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מוּסַךְ (musakh; Qere) / מִיסַךְ (misakh; Kethib) is uncertain. For discussion see HALOT 557 s.v. מוּסַךְ and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189-90.
  33. 2 Kings 16:18 tn Heb “that they built.”
  34. 2 Kings 16:18 sn It is doubtful that Tiglath-Pileser ordered these architectural changes. Ahaz probably made these changes so he could send some of the items and materials to the Assyrian king as tribute. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 190, 193.
  35. 2 Kings 16:19 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Ahaz, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  36. 2 Kings 16:20 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
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2 Kings 16
New Living Translation

Ahaz Rules in Judah

16 Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel. 2 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 his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son 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 Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time the king of Edom[b] recovered the town of Elath for Edom.[c] He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites[d] to live there, as they do to this day.

7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal.[e] Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. 9 So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.

10 King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. 11 Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. 12 When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. 13 He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar.

14 Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the Lord’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. 15 He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar[f] for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.” 16 Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him.

17 Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. 18 In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day,[g] as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord.

19 The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 20 When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.

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Footnotes

  1. 16:3 Or even making his son pass through the fire.
  2. 16:6a As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Rezin king of Aram.
  3. 16:6b As in Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Aram.
  4. 16:6c As in Greek version, Latin Vulgate, and an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text; the other alternate reads Arameans.
  5. 16:7 Hebrew your son.
  6. 16:15 Hebrew the great altar.
  7. 16:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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New Living Translation (NLT)

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