2 Kings Chapter 16

Ahaz Rules in Judah

¹ In the seventeenth year of Pekah, Ahaz Ben-Jotham became king. ² He was 20 and ruled for 16 years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do what was right like David did. ³ He lived like the kings in Israel, and even burned his son as an offering like the horrible things the nations did that Yahveh had originally driven out. ⁴ He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and hills under every green tree.

⁵ Then Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem. They laid siege to Ahaz but couldn’t conquer him. ⁶ At that time, Rezin recovered Elath and cleared the Judeans out of it entirely. Arameans came to Elath and still live there. ⁷ Ahaz sent ambassadors to Tiglath-pileser, “I’m your servant and vassal. Come up and deliver me from the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.” ⁸ Ahaz took the silver and gold in Yahveh’s Temple and the king’s treasuries and sent a gift to the king of Assyria. ⁹ He went up and conquered Damascus, exiled its people to Kir, and executed Rezin.                                                                                     2 Kg 16:1-9

¹⁰ King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser and saw the altar at Damascus. He sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar, its model, and details. ¹¹ Urijah built an altar like it before Ahaz got back. ¹² When he got there and saw it, he went up to it. ¹³ He burned his burnt offering and meal offering, and poured his liquid offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. ¹⁴ The bronze altar that was in front of Yahveh he brought from between his altar and Yahveh’s Temple and put it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ Then he commanded Urijah,

“On the great altar, burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king’s burnt offering and meal offering, with the people’s burnt offering, meal offering, and liquid offerings. Sprinkle on it the blood of the burnt offering and sacrifice. But the bronze altar will be for me to ask by.”

¹⁶ Urijah did what he said.                                                                                               2 Kg 16:10-16

¹⁷ Then Ahaz cut off the borders of the stands and removed the laver from them. He took down the sea from over the bronze oxen and put it on a stone pavement. ¹⁸ Because of the king of Assyria, he took from Yahveh’s Temple the covered way for the Sabbath that they’d built in the Temple, as well as the outer entry for the king. ¹⁹ The rest of the acts of Ahaz are recorded in The Chronicles of the Books of Judah. ²⁰ He died and they buried him in The City of David. His son Hezekiah reigned. 2 Kg 16:17-20