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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
Christian Standard Bible

Judah’s King Ahaz

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah,(A) Ahaz(B) son of Jotham became king of Judah. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God like his ancestor David(C) 3 but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.(D) He even sacrificed his son in the fire,[a] imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.(E) 4 He sacrificed and burned incense(F) on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.(G)

5 Then(H) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him.(I) 6 At that time Aram’s King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath.(J) Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.(K)

7 So Ahaz sent messengers(L) to King Tiglath-pileser(M) of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the grasp of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.(N) 9 So the king of Assyria listened to him(O) and marched up to Damascus and captured it.(P) He deported its people to Kir(Q) but put Rezin to death.

Ahaz’s Idolatry

10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser(R) of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.(S) 11 Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, the priest Uriah had completed it. 12 When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar(T) and ascended it.[b] 13 He offered his burnt offering(U) and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his fellowship offerings(V) on the altar. 14 He took the bronze altar(W) that was before the Lord in front of the temple between his altar and the Lord’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

15 Then King Ahaz commanded the priest Uriah, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”[c] 16 The priest Uriah did everything King Ahaz commanded.

17 Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts[d](X) and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the basin[e](Y) from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. 18 To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the Lord’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.

Ahaz’s Death

19 The rest(Z) of the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(AA) 20 Ahaz rested with his ancestors(AB) and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 16:3 Lit even made his son pass through the fire
  2. 16:12 Or and offered on it:
  3. 16:15 Hb obscure
  4. 16:17 Lit the stands
  5. 16:17 Lit sea
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