Chronological
Ahaz King of Judah(A)
28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] sixteen years in Jerusalem. Unlike his ·ancestor [father] David, he did not do what ·the Lord said was right [L was pleasing/proper in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. 2 Ahaz ·did the same things as [L walked in the ways of] the kings of Israel. He made ·metal [cast; molten] ·idols [images] to worship Baal. 3 He ·burned incense [offered sacrifices] in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and ·made [sacrificed] his children ·pass through [in] the fire. He ·did [followed] the ·same hateful sins [detestable/abominable practices] as the nations had done whom the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 Ahaz ·offered [sacrificed] sacrifices and burned incense at the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 11:15], and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 So the Lord his God handed over Ahaz to the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated Ahaz and ·took [deported] many people of Judah as ·prisoners [captives] to Damascus.
He also handed over Ahaz to Pekah king of Israel, ·and Pekah’s army killed many soldiers of Ahaz [who inflicted heavy casualties on him]. 6 Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand ·brave [skilled] soldiers from Judah in one day. Pekah defeated them because they had ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. 7 Zicri, a mighty warrior from Ephraim, killed King Ahaz’s son Maaseiah. He also killed Azrikam, the ·officer [commander] in charge of the ·palace [L house], and Elkanah, who was second in command to the king. 8 The Israelite army captured two hundred thousand of their own relatives. They took women, sons and daughters, and ·many valuable things [much plunder/spoil/booty] from Judah and carried ·them [it] back to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He met the Israelite army when it returned to Samaria and said to them, “The Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], handed Judah over to you, because he was angry with them. But ·God has seen the cruel way you killed them [you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached to heaven]. 10 Now you plan to make the people of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves, but ·you also have sinned [L what about your own sins/transgressions…?] against the Lord your God. 11 Now listen to me. Send back ·your brothers and sisters whom you captured [the captives you have taken from your brothers], because the ·Lord is very angry with you [L fierce anger of the Lord burns against you].”
12 Then some of the ·leaders [officials] in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—·met [confronted; L rose against] the Israelite soldiers coming home from ·war [battle]. 13 They warned the soldiers, “Don’t bring the ·prisoners [captives] from Judah here. If you do, we will ·be guilty of sin against the Lord, and that will make our sin and guilt even worse [add to our sins and guilt before the Lord]. Our guilt is already so great that ·he is angry with [L his fierce anger is burning against] Israel.”
14 So the soldiers left the ·prisoners [captives] and ·valuable things [plunder; spoil; booty] in front of the ·officers [officials] and ·people there [the entire assembly]. 15 The ·leaders [men] who were named took the ·prisoners [captives] and gave those who were naked clothes from ·what the Israelite army had taken [the plunder/spoil/booty]. They gave the ·prisoners [captives] clothes, sandals, food, drink, and ·medicine [oil for their wounds; L anointed them]. They put the weak on donkeys and took them back to their ·families [brothers] in Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned home to Samaria.
More Attacks(B)
22 During Ahaz’s ·troubles [L time of distress] he was even more unfaithful to the Lord. 23 He ·offered [sacrificed] sacrifices to the gods of the people of Damascus, who had defeated him. He thought, “The gods of the kings of Aram helped them. If I ·offer [sacrifice] sacrifices to them, they ·will [may] help me also.” But this brought ·ruin to [the downfall of] Ahaz and all Israel.
24 Ahaz gathered the ·things [articles; utensils] from the ·Temple [L house] of God and ·broke [cut] them into pieces. Then he closed the doors of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. He made himself altars [C to pagan gods] and put them on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every town in Judah, Ahaz made ·places [L high places; 11:15] for burning sacrifices to other gods. So he ·made [provoked] the Lord, the God of his ·ancestors [fathers], ·very angry [to anger].
26 The ·other things Ahaz did as king [rest of the events/acts/history of Ahaz’s reign], from ·beginning to end [first to last], are written in the ·book [scroll] of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem], but not in the ·graves [tombs] of the kings of Israel. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Ahaz King of Judah(A)
16 Ahaz was the son of Jotham king of Judah. Ahaz became king of Judah in the seventeenth year Pekah son of Remaliah was king of Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] sixteen years in Jerusalem. Unlike his ·ancestor [father] David, he did not do ·what the Lord his God said was right [right in the eyes/sight of the Lord his God]. 3 Ahaz ·did the same things the kings of Israel had done [L walked in the way/path of the kings of Israel]. He even ·made his son pass through fire [sacrificed his son in the fire; C a reference to human sacrifice]. He did the same ·hateful sins [detestable/abominable practices] as the nations had done whom the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places: 12:3], on the hills, and under every ·green [spreading] tree.
5 Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came up to attack Jerusalem. They ·surrounded [besieged] Ahaz but could not ·defeat [conquer; overpower] him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram ·took back [recovered] the city of Elath for Aram, and he forced out all the people of Judah. Then ·Edomites [Arameans] moved into Elath, and they still live there today.
7 Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your ·friend [vassal; L son]. Come and ·save [rescue; T deliver] me from the hand of the king of Aram and the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and in the treasuries of the ·palace [L king’s house], and he sent these as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz. He attacked Damascus and captured it and ·sent all [exiled; deported] its people away to Kir. And he killed Rezin.
10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. Ahaz saw an altar at Damascus, and he sent ·plans [a model] and a ·pattern [detailed plan] of this altar to Uriah the priest. 11 So Uriah the priest built an altar, just like the plans King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. Uriah finished the altar before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 When the king arrived from Damascus, he saw the altar and went ·near [up to it/onto it] and offered sacrifices on it [C the building of this altar was an act of apostasy]. 13 He ·burned [offered; presented] his burnt offerings and grain offerings and poured out his drink offering. He also sprinkled the blood of his ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] on the altar.
14 Ahaz moved the bronze altar that was previously before the Lord at the front of the ·Temple [L house]. It was between Ahaz’s altar [C the new one] and the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord [C the Temple entrance], but he put it on the north side of his altar. 15 King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “On the ·large [great; C the new one] altar ·burn [offer; present] the morning burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17], the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1], and the whole burnt offering, the ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering, and the drink offering for all the people of the land. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and of the sacrifice. But I will use the bronze altar to ·ask questions [inquire] of God.” 16 So Uriah the priest did everything as King Ahaz commanded him.
17 Then King Ahaz ·took [cut] off the side panels from the bases and removed the ·washing bowls [basins] from the top of the ·bases [movable stands; portable water carts]. He also took the large bowl, which was called the Sea, off the bronze ·bulls [oxen] that held it up, and he put it on ·a [the] stone ·base [pavement; pediment]. 18 Ahaz took away the ·platform [dais; or canopy; covered portal] for the royal throne, which had been built at the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. He also took away the outside entrance for the king. He did these things because of the king of Assyria [C to show deference and submission].
19 The other things Ahaz did as king ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 20 Ahaz ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in the City of David [C Jerusalem], and Ahaz’s son Hezekiah ·became king [reigned] in his place.
Hoshea, Last King of Israel
17 Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel during Ahaz’s twelfth year as king of Judah. Hoshea ·ruled [reigned] in Samaria nine years. 2 He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], but ·he was not as bad as [not like] the kings of Israel who had ·ruled [reigned] before him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came to attack Hoshea. Hoshea had been Shalmaneser’s ·servant [vassal] and had ·made the payments to Shal-maneser that he had demanded [paid him tribute]. 4 But the king of Assyria found that Hoshea had betrayed him. Hoshea had ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against him by sending messengers to So, the king of Egypt. Hoshea had also ·stopped giving Shalmaneser the payments [offered no tribute to the king of Assyria], which he had paid every year in the past. For that, the king of Assyria put Hoshea in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria ·came and attacked [invaded] all the land of Israel. He ·surrounded [besieged] Samaria for three years. 6 He ·defeated [captured] Samaria in the ninth year Hoshea was king, and he ·took [carried; exiled; deported] the Israelites away to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
Israelites Punished for Sin
7 All these things happened because the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them out of Egypt and had rescued them from the ·power [L hand] of Pharaoh the king of Egypt [Ex. 20:2], but ·the Israelites [L they] had ·honored [revered; feared] other gods [Deut. 29:26]. 8 They ·lived like [followed/L walked in the practices of] the nations the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of them. They lived as their evil kings had shown them, 9 secretly ·sinning [doing things that were not right] against the Lord their God. They ·built [set up] ·places to worship gods [L high places; 12:3] in all their cities, from the watchtower to the ·strong, walled [fortified] city. 10 They put up ·stone [sacred] pillars to gods and Asherah ·idols [poles; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6; 1 Kin. 14:15] on every high hill and under every ·green [spreading] tree. 11 The Israelites burned incense ·everywhere gods were worshiped [L on all the high places; 12:3], just as the nations who lived there before them had done, whom the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land. The Israelites did ·wicked [evil] things that ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord’s anger]. 12 They served idols when the Lord had said, “You must not do this.” 13 The Lord used every prophet and seer to warn Israel and Judah. He said, “·Stop [Turn from] your evil ways and ·obey [keep; observe] my commands and laws. Follow all the ·teachings [law; L torah] that I commanded your ·ancestors [fathers], the ·teachings [law; L torah] that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But the people would not listen. They were ·stubborn [L stiff-necked], just as their ·ancestors [fathers] had been who did not ·believe [trust; have faith] in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected the Lord’s laws and the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] he had ·made [L cut] with their ·ancestors [fathers]. And they refused to listen to his warnings [Deut. 12:30–31]. They worshiped ·useless [worthless; futile; vain] idols and became ·useless [worthless; futile; vain] themselves [1 Sam. 12:21]. They did what the nations around them did, which the Lord had ·warned [commanded; ordered] them not to do [Lev. 18:3, 24–28].
16 The people ·rejected [forsook] all the commands of the Lord their God. They molded ·statues [cast images] of two calves [1 Kin. 12:28–30], and they made an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6; Deut. 16:21]. They worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [forces/hosts of heaven; Deut. 4:19] and served Baal. 17 They ·made their sons and daughters pass through [sacrificed their sons and daughters in the] fire [16:3; 21:6; Deut. 12:31] and tried to find out the future by magic and witchcraft [1 Sam 15:23]. They always chose to do ·what the Lord said was wrong [evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], which ·made him angry [aroused/provoked him to anger]. 18 Because he was very angry with the people of Israel, he removed them from his ·presence [sight]. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
Judah Is Also Guilty
19 ·But even [Also] Judah did not ·obey [keep; observe] the commands of the Lord their God. They ·did what [followed/L walked in the practices] the Israelites had done, 20 so the Lord rejected all the ·people [descendants] of Israel. He ·punished [afflicted] them and ·let others destroy them [handed them over to plunderers/marauders]; he ·threw [banished; thrust] them out of his ·presence [sight]. 21 When the Lord ·separated [tore; ripped] them from the ·family [L house] of David, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam ·led [drew; enticed] the Israelites away from the Lord and led them to sin greatly [1 Kin. 13:33–34]. 22 So they ·continued to do [persisted; L walked in] all the sins Jeroboam did. They did not ·stop doing [depart/turn away from] these sins 23 until the Lord removed the Israelites from his ·presence [sight], just as he had ·said [warned; 14:15–16; 1 Kin. 9:7] through all his servants the prophets. So the Israelites were ·taken out of [carried into exile/deported from] their land to Assyria, and they have been there to this day.
The Beginning of the Samaritan People
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and ·put [settled] them in the cities of Samaria to replace the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. These people took ·over [possession of] Samaria and lived in the cities. 25 At first they did not ·worship [revere; fear] the Lord, so he sent lions among them which killed some of them. 26 The king of Assyria was told, “You ·sent foreigners [deported/exiled/carried nations] into the cities of Samaria who do not know the ·law [custom] of the god of the land. This is why he has sent lions among them. The lions are killing them because they don’t know ·what the god wants [L the law/custom of the god of the land].”
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send back one of the priests you ·took away [carried into exile; deported]. Let him live there and teach the people ·what the god wants [L the law/custom of the god of the land].” 28 So one of the priests who had been carried ·away [into exile] from Samaria returned to live ·in [at] Bethel. And he taught the people how to ·honor [revere; fear] the Lord.
29 But each nation made gods of its own and put them in the cities where they lived and in the ·temples [L houses] ·where gods were worshiped [L of the high places; 12:3]. These ·temples [L houses] had been built by the Samaritans. 30 The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth their god. The people from Cuthah ·worshiped [made] Nergal. The people of Hamath ·worshiped [made] Ashima. 31 The Avvites ·worshiped [made] Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire, sacrificing them to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also ·honored [revered; feared] the Lord, but they chose priests for the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3]. The priests were chosen from among themselves, and they ·made sacrifices [L officiated at the temple/houses of the high places] for the people. 33 The people ·honored [revered; feared] the Lord but also ·served [followed] their own gods, ·just as [L in accordance with the customs of] the nations ·did from which they had been brought [from which they had been exiled]. 34 Even today they ·do as they did in the past [practice their former customs]. They do not ·worship [revere; fear] the Lord nor obey his ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands. They do not ·obey [worship nor observe] the ·teachings [law; L torah] or the commands of the Lord, which he gave to the ·children [descendants] of Jacob, whom he had named Israel [Gen. 32:28]. 35 The Lord had made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with them and had commanded them, “Do not ·honor [revere; fear] other gods. Do not bow down to them or ·worship [serve] them or offer sacrifices to them. 36 ·Worship [Revere; Fear] the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and ·strength [L an outstretched arm]. Bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 37 Always obey the rules, orders, ·teachings [law; L torah], and commands he wrote for you. Do not ·honor [revere; fear] other gods. 38 Do not forget the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] I made with you, and do not ·honor [revere; fear] other gods. 39 Instead ·worship [revere; fear] the Lord your God, who will ·save [rescue; T deliver] you from all your enemies.”
40 But the Israelites did not listen. They ·kept on doing the same things they had done before [continued in their former practices/custom]. 41 So these nations ·honored [revered; feared] the Lord but also ·worshiped [served] their idols, and their children and grandchildren still do as their ·ancestors [fathers] did.
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