¹² She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors^[a] clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men.^(A)

⁷ Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”^{(A) 8} Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king’s house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.^{(B) 9} The king of Assyria listened to him; the king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir; then he killed Rezin.^(C)

¹⁰ When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. King Ahaz sent to the priest Uriah a model of the altar and its pattern exact in all its details.^{(D) 11} The priest Uriah built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did the priest Uriah build it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus. ¹² When the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar, went up on it, ¹³ and offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured his drink offering, and dashed the blood of his offerings of well-being against the altar. ¹⁴ The bronze altar that was before the Lord he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of his altar.^{(E) 15} King Ahaz commanded the priest Uriah, saying, “Upon the great altar offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offering; then dash against it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice, but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.”^(F)

²³ the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and select leaders, all of them riding on horses.^(A)

⁵ Oholah prostituted herself while she was mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors^{[a](A) 6} clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, mounted horsemen.

²⁸ You prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them, and still you were not satisfied.^(A)

Assyria Refuses to Help Judah

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent to the king^[a] of Assyria for help.^{(A) 17} For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. ¹⁸ And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there.^{(B) 19} For the Lord brought Judah low because of King Ahaz of Israel, for he had behaved without restraint in Judah and had been faithless to the Lord.^{(C) 20} So King Tiglath-pileser^[b] of Assyria came against him and oppressed him instead of strengthening him.^{(D) 21} For Ahaz plundered the house of the Lord and the houses of the king and of the officials and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz

²² In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. ²³ For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.^(E)