28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah as king in Jerusalem for 16 years. He did not do the things that the Lord said were good. So he was not like his ancestor, King David. [ a ]
2 He lived in the same bad way that the kings of Israel did. He also used metal to make images of the god Baal. 3 He offered sacrifices in Ben-Hinnom Valley. He even caused his sons to walk through fire. [ b ] In this way he copied the terrible sins of the other nations in Canaan. Those were the nations that the Lord had chased out so that the Israelites could live there. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and he burned incense on altars on the hills, as well as under all the big trees.
5 Because of this, the Lord his God put Ahaz under the power of the king of Syria. Syria's army won a battle against Ahaz's men. The king of Syria took many of Ahaz's people to Damascus as his prisoners. [ c ]
The Lord also allowed the king of Israel to attack Ahaz. Israel's soldiers completely won the battle against Ahaz. 6 In one day, King Pekah of Israel, Remaliah's son, killed 120,000 of Judah's best soldiers. God punished the people of Judah because they had turned away from the Lord , the God of their ancestors.
7 Zikri, a brave soldier from Ephraim's tribe, killed Maaseiah, King Ahaz's son. He also killed Azrikam, the officer with authority over the king's palace, and Elkanah, the king's most important officer. 8 The Israelites took hold of 200,000 wives, sons and daughters of Judah's soldiers. They took them as their prisoners, even though they were their relatives. They also carried away to Samaria a lot of valuable things.
9 Oded, a prophet of the Lord , lived there. He went to meet Israel's soldiers when they arrived back in Samaria. He said to them, ‘The Lord , the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah's people. So he let you have power over them to punish them. But you have killed them in a very cruel way. God in heaven has seen what you have done. 10 Now you want to use the men and women from Judah and Jerusalem as your slaves. So you yourselves are guilty of sins against the Lord your God. 11 Now listen to me! The Lord is very angry with you. So you must send back the prisoners that you have brought here from Judah. Remember that they are your relatives.’
12 Then some family leaders of Ephraim warned the soldiers who were returning from the battle against Judah. The leaders' names were: Jehohanan's son Azariah, Meshillemoth's son Berekiah, Shallum's son Jehizkiah and Hadlai's son Amasa. 13 They said to the soldiers, ‘You must not bring your prisoners here! If you do, we will be guilty of even more sins against the Lord . The Lord is already angry with us people of Israel because we are guilty. Do not make it worse.’
14 So the soldiers let their prisoners go free. They gave the people and the things that they had brought from Judah to the leaders and the other people. 15 The leaders found clothes for each of the prisoners who had no clothes. They gave the prisoners clothes, shoes, food and drink, as well as oil to put on their skin. They took all these things from the things that the soldiers had brought from Judah. They put the prisoners who were too weak to walk on donkeys. Then they took them back to their relatives in Jericho, the city with many palm trees. After that, the Israelite leaders returned to Samaria.
16 At that time, King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help. 17 Soldiers from Edom had attacked Judah again. They had taken people away as their prisoners. 18 Philistine soldiers had also attacked towns in the low hills in the west of Judah and in the Negev in the south. They took these towns for themselves and they lived in them:
Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth;
Soco, Timnah and Gimzo with the villages around them.
19 The Lord caused a lot of trouble for Judah's people because of their king, Ahaz. He turned away from the Lord and he allowed his people to do wicked things.
20 King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria came to Ahaz. But he did not help Ahaz. Instead, he caused trouble. 21 Ahaz took valuable things from the Lord 's temple, from the king's palace and from his officers. He gave those things to the king of Assyria. But the king of Assyria still did not help him.
22 During this time of trouble, King Ahaz did even more bad things against the Lord . 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. He thought that those gods had helped the kings of Syria to win the wars against him. He thought, ‘If I offer sacrifices to them, perhaps they will help me too.’ But that sin caused a lot of trouble for King Ahaz and for his nation.
24 Ahaz took away all the things that were in God's temple. He broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the temple so that nobody could go in. He built altars for himself at the corner of every street in Jerusalem. 25 He built altars in every town in Judah to offer sacrifices to other gods. In that way he made the Lord , the God of his ancestors, very angry.
26 All the other things that happened while Ahaz was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of the kings of Judah and Israel’. It tells about all the things that Ahaz did. 27 Ahaz died and his people buried him in the City of David. But they did not bury him near the graves of Israel's kings.
His son Hezekiah became king after him.
28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not live right, as David his ancestor had done. Ahaz did not do what the Lord wanted him to do. 2 He followed the bad example of the kings of Israel. He used molds to make idols to worship the Baal gods. 3 He burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom [ a ] and sacrificed his own sons by burning them in the fire. He did the same terrible sins that the peoples living in that land did. The Lord had forced them out when the Israelites entered that land. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5-6 Because Ahaz did these things, the Lord his God let the king of Aram defeat him. The king and his army defeated Ahaz and took many people of Judah as prisoners to the city of Damascus. Ahaz also suffered a terrible defeat by the king of Israel, Pekah son of Remaliah. Pekah and his army killed 120,000 of the bravest soldiers in Judah in one day. All this happened because the people of Judah had turned away from the Lord , the God their ancestors worshiped. 7 Zicri was a brave soldier from Ephraim. He killed the king’s son Maaseiah. He also killed Azrikam, the officer in charge of the king’s palace, and Elkanah, who was second in command to the king.
8 The Israelite army captured 200,000 of their own relatives living in Judah. They took women, children, and many valuable things from Judah and carried them back to Samaria. 9 But one of the Lord ’s prophets named Oded was there. Oded met the Israelite army that came back to Samaria. He said to the Israelite army, “The Lord , the God your ancestors worshiped, let you defeat the people of Judah because he was angry with them. But now he is angry with you, because he has seen how cruel you were in killing them. 10 And now you plan to keep the people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves. But you are as guilty as they are for sinning against the Lord your God. 11 Now listen to me. Send back all those you captured, your own brothers and sisters, because the Lord ’s terrible anger is against you.”
12 Then some of the leaders in Ephraim saw the Israelite soldiers coming home from war. They met the Israelite soldiers and warned them. The leaders were Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai. 13 They said to the Israelite soldiers, “Don’t bring the prisoners from Judah here. If you do that, it will add to our sin against the Lord . It will make our sin and guilt before him even worse than it is now, and he is already very angry with Israel!”
14 So the soldiers gave the prisoners and valuable things to the leaders and to the people. 15 The leaders (Azariah, Berekiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa) stood up and helped the prisoners. These four men got the clothes that the Israelite army took and gave them to the people who were naked. The leaders also gave them sandals. They gave the prisoners from Judah something to eat and drink. They rubbed oil on them to soften and heal their wounds. Then the leaders from Ephraim put the weak prisoners on donkeys and took them back home to their families in Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then the four leaders went back home to Samaria.
16-17 At that same time the people from Edom came again and defeated the people of Judah. The Edomites captured people and took them away as prisoners. So King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria to help him. 18 The Philistines also attacked the towns in the hills and in south Judah. The Philistines captured the towns of Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo. They also captured the villages near these towns. Then the Philistines lived in them. 19 The Lord gave troubles to Judah because King Ahaz of Judah encouraged the people of Judah to sin. He was very unfaithful to the Lord . 20 King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria came and gave Ahaz trouble instead of helping him. 21 Ahaz took some valuable things from the Lord ’s Temple and from the king’s palace and from the prince’s house. Ahaz gave them to the king of Assyria, but that didn’t help him.
22 In Ahaz’s troubles, he sinned worse and became more unfaithful to the Lord . 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods the people of Damascus worshiped. The people of Damascus had defeated Ahaz. So he thought to himself, “The gods the people of Aram worship helped them. So if I offer sacrifices to them, maybe they will help me also.” Ahaz worshiped these gods. In this way he sinned, and he made the people of Israel sin.
24 Ahaz gathered the things from God’s Temple and broke them to pieces. Then he closed the doors of the Lord ’s Temple. He made altars and put them on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every town in Judah Ahaz made high places for burning incense to worship other gods. Ahaz made the Lord , the God his ancestors obeyed, very angry.
26 Everything else Ahaz did, from the beginning to the end, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel . 27 Ahaz died and was buried with his ancestors. The people buried him in the city of Jerusalem. But they didn’t bury him in the same burial place where the kings of Israel were buried. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became the new king in his place.
28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord , like David his father:
2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
3 Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers.
7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.
8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.
9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.
10 And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?
11 Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.
12 Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,
13 And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the Lord already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.
14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.
15 And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
16 At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.
17 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.
18 The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.
19 For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord .
20 And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.
21 For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord , and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not.
22 And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord : this is that king Ahaz.
23 For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.
24 And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord , and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
25 And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.
26 Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
28 ( A ) Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. ( B ) He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord as his father David had done . 2 ( C ) But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also ( D ) made cast metal images for the Baals. 3 Furthermore, ( E ) he burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and ( F ) burned his sons in fire, ( G ) according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel. 4 He sacrificed and ( H ) burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Therefore ( I ) the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram; and they [ a ] defeated him and carried from him a great number of captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with heavy casualties. 6 For ( J ) Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king.
8 ( K ) The sons of Israel led away captive two hundred thousand of ( L ) their relatives, women, sons, and daughters; and they also [ b ] took a great deal of spoils from them, and brought the spoils to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and ( M ) he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord , the God of your fathers, ( N ) was angry with Judah, He has handed them over to you, and you have killed them in a rage ( O ) which has even reached heaven. 10 Now you are proposing to ( P ) subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Are you not, however guilty yourselves of offenses against the Lord your God? 11 Now then, listen to me and return the captives ( Q ) whom you captured from your brothers, ( R ) for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.” 12 Then some of the leading men 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—rose up against those who were coming from the battle, 13 and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us before the Lord , adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great, and His burning anger is against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoils before the officers and all the assembly. 15 Then ( S ) the men who were designated by name got up, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked people from the spoils; 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.
16 ( V ) At that time King Ahaz sent word to the [ c ] kings of Assyria for help. 17 ( W ) For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, and led away captives. 18 ( X ) The Philistines had also invaded the cities of the [ d ] lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they had settled there. 19 For the Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of ( Y ) Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the Lord . 20 So ( Z ) Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 ( AA ) Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
22 Now during the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz ( AB ) became even more unfaithful to the Lord . 23 ( AC ) For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had [ e ] defeated him, and said, “ ( AD ) Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they became the [ f ] downfall of him and all Israel. 24 Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he ( AE ) cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he ( AF ) closed the doors of the house of the Lord , and ( AG ) made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord , the God of his fathers, to anger. 26 ( AH ) Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 ( AI ) So Ahaz [ g ] lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of ( AJ ) Israel; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
28 Ahaz ( B ) was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord . 2 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols ( C ) for worshiping the Baals. 3 He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom ( D ) and sacrificed his children ( E ) in the fire, engaging in the detestable ( F ) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
5 Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram. ( G ) The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus.
He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. 6 In one day Pekah ( H ) son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah ( I ) —because Judah had forsaken the Lord , the God of their ancestors. 7 Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. 8 The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah ( J ) two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria. ( K )
9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord , the God of your ancestors, was angry ( L ) with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. ( M ) 10 And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. ( N ) But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? 11 Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord ’s fierce anger rests on you. ( O ) ”
12 Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war. 13 “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord . Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”
14 So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. 15 The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, ( P ) and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms, ( Q ) and returned to Samaria. ( R )
16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings [ a ] of Assyria ( S ) for help. 17 The Edomites ( T ) had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners, ( U ) 18 while the Philistines ( V ) had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon ( W ) and Gederoth, ( X ) as well as Soko, ( Y ) Timnah ( Z ) and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. 19 The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, [ b ] for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful ( AA ) to the Lord . 20 Tiglath-Pileser [ c ] ( AB ) king of Assyria ( AC ) came to him, but he gave him trouble ( AD ) instead of help. ( AE ) 21 Ahaz ( AF ) took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him. ( AG )
22 In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful ( AH ) to the Lord . 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods ( AI ) of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” ( AJ ) But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel. ( AK )
24 Ahaz gathered together the furnishings ( AL ) from the temple of God ( AM ) and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors ( AN ) of the Lord ’s temple and set up altars ( AO ) at every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord , the God of his ancestors.
26 The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz rested ( AP ) with his ancestors and was buried ( AQ ) in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
