Historical

Ahaz Reigns over Judah

28 ^(A)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and ^(B)he did not do what was right in the sight of Yahweh, as David his father had done. ^2 (C)But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also ^(D)made molten images for the Baals. ³ Moreover, ^(E)he offered offerings in smoke in the valley of Ben-hinnom and ^(F)burned his sons in the fire, ^(G)according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel. ⁴ He also sacrificed and ^(H)offered offerings in smoke on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Carried Away by Aram

⁵ So, ^(I)Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they struck him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter. ⁶ Indeed, ^(J)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed in Judah 120,000 in one day, all men of valor, because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. ⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.

^8 (K)Then the sons of Israel carried away captive of ^(L)their brothers 200,000 women, sons, and daughters; and they plundered also a great deal of spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of Yahweh was there, whose name was Oded; and ^(M)he went out before the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because of the ^(N)wrath of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, against Judah, He has given them into your hand, and you have killed them in a rage ^(O)which has even reached heaven. ¹⁰ So now you are ^[a]intending to ^(P)subdue for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have your own matters of guilt against Yahweh your God? ¹¹ So now, listen to me and return the captives ^(Q)whom you carried away from your brothers, ^(R)for the burning anger of Yahweh is against you.” ¹² Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—arose against those who were coming from the engagement of the army, ¹³ and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are ^[b]intending to bring upon us guilt against Yahweh adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that His burning anger is against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then ^(S)the men who were designated by name arose, took hold of the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and ^(T)gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, ^(U)the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Ahaz Sends to Assyria for Help

^16 (V)At that time King Ahaz sent to the ^[c]kings of Assyria for help. ^17 (W)Indeed, again the Edomites had come and struck Judah and carried away captives. ^18 (X)And the Philistines also had raided the cities of the ^[d]Shephelah and of the ^[e]Negev of Judah, and had captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its towns, Timnah with its towns, and Gimzo with its towns, and they settled there. ¹⁹ For Yahweh humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of ^(Y)Israel, for he had caused it to be out of control in Judah and was very unfaithful to Yahweh. ²⁰ So ^(Z)Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and distressed him instead of strengthening him. ^21 (AA)Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of Yahweh and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

²² Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz ^(AB)became yet more unfaithful to Yahweh. ^23 (AC)Indeed, he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had struck him, and said, “^(AD)Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the stumbling of him and all Israel. ²⁴ Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God. Then he ^(AE)cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he ^(AF)closed the doors of the house of Yahweh and ^(AG)made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ Now in each and every city of Judah he made high places to offer offerings in smoke to other gods, and provoked Yahweh, the God of his fathers, to anger. ^26 (AH)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ^27 (AI)So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of ^(AJ)Israel; and Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

29 ^(AK)Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. ^2 (AL)And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^(AM)opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and repaired them. ⁴ And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east.

Hezekiah Sets the House of God as Holy

⁵ Then he said to them, “Listen to me, O Levites. ^(AN)Set yourselves apart now as holy, and set apart as holy the house of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and bring out the impurity from the holy place. ⁶ For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what is evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken Him and ^(AO)turned their faces away from the dwelling place of Yahweh, and have ^[f]turned their backs. ⁷ They have also ^(AP)shut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore ^(AQ)the wrath of Yahweh was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of ^(AR)hissing, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ And behold, ^(AS)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. ¹⁰ Now it is in my heart ^(AT)to cut a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not be at ease now, for ^(AU)Yahweh has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and offer offerings up in smoke.”

¹² Then the Levites arose:

¹⁵ And they gathered their brothers, ^(AX)set themselves apart as holy, and went in ^(AY)to cleanse the house of Yahweh, according to the commandment of the king ^(AZ)by the words of Yahweh. ¹⁶ So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of Yahweh to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of Yahweh they brought out to the court of the house of Yahweh. Then the Levites received it to bring out to ^(BA)the Kidron ^[i]valley, to an outer area. ¹⁷ Then they began ^[j]to set it apart as holy ^(BB)on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of Yahweh. Then they set apart the house of Yahweh as holy in eight days, and completed it on the sixteenth day of the first month. ¹⁸ Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole house of Yahweh, the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all of its utensils. ¹⁹ Moreover, ^(BC)all the utensils which King Ahaz had rejected during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and set apart as holy; and behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.”

Hezekiah Brings an Offering

²⁰ Then King Hezekiah arose early and gathered the princes of the city and went up to the house of Yahweh. ²¹ And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ^(BD)for a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Yahweh. ²² So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs also and ^(BE)splashed the blood on the altar. ²³ Then they had the male goats of the sin offering approach before the king and the assembly, and ^(BF)they laid their hands on them. ²⁴ And the priests slaughtered them and purged the altar with their blood ^(BG)to atone for all Israel, for the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

^25 (BH)He then caused the Levites to stand in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, with harps, and with lyres, ^(BI)according to the command of David and of ^(BJ)Gad the king’s seer, and of ^(BK)Nathan the prophet; for the command was from Yahweh by the hand of His prophets. ²⁶ And the Levites stood with ^(BL)the musical instruments of David, and ^(BM)the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah said to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, ^(BN)the song to Yahweh also began with the trumpets, ^[k]accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel. ²⁸ While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was completed.

²⁹ Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, ^(BO)the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped. ³⁰ Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David and Asaph the seer. ^(BP)So they sang praises with gladness, and bowed down and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, “^(BQ)Now that you have ^[l]become ordained to Yahweh, approach and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Yahweh.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and ^(BR)all those who were willing of heart brought burnt offerings. ³² And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to Yahweh. ³³ And the holy things were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. ³⁴ But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; ^(BS)therefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was completed and until the other priests had set themselves apart as holy. For ^(BT)the Levites were more upright of heart to set themselves apart as holy than the priests. ³⁵ There were also ^[m](BU)many burnt offerings with ^(BV)the fat of the peace offerings and with ^(BW)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of Yahweh was established again. ³⁶ Then Hezekiah and all the people were glad over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.