12 “She lusted for the neighboring (A)Assyrians,
(B)Captains and rulers,
Clothed most gorgeously,
Horsemen riding on horses,
All of them desirable young men.

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12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.(A)

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So Ahaz sent messengers to (A)Tiglath-Pileser[a] king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” And Ahaz (B)took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against (C)Damascus and (D)took it, carried its people captive to (E)Kir, and killed Rezin.

10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then (F)Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and (G)the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also brought (H)the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the [b]temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn (I)the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 16:7 A later name of Pul, 2 Kin. 15:19
  2. 2 Kings 16:14 Lit. house

Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser(A) king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save(B) me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift(C) to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus(D) and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir(E) and put Rezin to death.

10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah(F) the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. 11 So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. 12 When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings[a](G) on it. 13 He offered up his burnt offering(H) and grain offering,(I) poured out his drink offering,(J) and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings(K) against the altar. 14 As for the bronze altar(L) 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(M) 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.”(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 16:12 Or and went up

23 The Babylonians,
All the Chaldeans,
(A)Pekod, Shoa, Koa,
(B)All the Assyrians with them,
All of them desirable young men,
Governors and rulers,
Captains and men of renown,
All of them riding on horses.

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23 the Babylonians(A) and all the Chaldeans,(B) the men of Pekod(C) and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.(D)

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The Older Sister, Samaria

“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine;
And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring (A)Assyrians,
Who were clothed in purple,
Captains and rulers,
All of them desirable young men,
Horsemen riding on horses.

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“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians(A)—warriors(B) clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen.

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28 You also played the harlot with the (A)Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied.

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28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(A) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(B)

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Assyria Refuses to Help Judah(A)

16 (B)At the same time King Ahaz sent to the [a]kings of Assyria to help him. 17 For again the (C)Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives. 18 (D)The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there. 19 For the Lord [b]brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of (E)Israel, for he had (F)encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. 20 Also (G)Tiglath-Pileser[c] king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. 21 For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz(H)

22 Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. 23 For (I)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them (J)that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:16 LXX, Syr., Vg. king (cf. v. 20)
  2. 2 Chronicles 28:19 humbled Judah
  3. 2 Chronicles 28:20 Heb. Tilgath-Pilneser

16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings[a] of Assyria(A) for help. 17 The Edomites(B) had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,(C) 18 while the Philistines(D) had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon(E) and Gederoth,(F) as well as Soko,(G) Timnah(H) and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. 19 The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,[b] for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful(I) to the Lord. 20 Tiglath-Pileser[c](J) king of Assyria(K) came to him, but he gave him trouble(L) instead of help.(M) 21 Ahaz(N) took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.(O)

22 In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful(P) to the Lord. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods(Q) of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.”(R) But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.(S)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Kings 16:7) king
  2. 2 Chronicles 28:19 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles
  3. 2 Chronicles 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser