2 Kings 16

1 In the seventeenth year of Pekach the son of Remalyahu, became Achaz, the son of Jotham the king of Judah, king.

When Pekah had been ruling Israel for almost 17 years, Ahaz, the son of Jotham, became the king of Judah.

2 Twenty years old was Achaz when he became king, and sixteen years did he reign in Jerusalem; and he did not what is right in the eyes of the Lord his God, like David his father.

He was 20 years old when he became the king [of Judah]. He ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. He did not do things that pleased Yahweh his God, good things like his ancestor King David had done.

3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even his son he caused to pass through the fire, after the abominable acts of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before the children of Israel.

Instead, he was as sinful as the kings of Israel had been. He even sacrificed his son as an offering to idols. That was worse than the disgusting things that the people who previously lived there had done, people whom Yahweh had expelled as the Israelis were advancing through the land.

4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense on the high-places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense [to honor Yahweh] on the tops of many hills and under many [HYP] big trees, [instead of in Jerusalem as Yahweh had commanded].

5 Then came up Rezin the king of Syria and Pekach the son of Remalyahu the king of Israel to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Achaz, but were not able to make an attack.

While he was the king of Judah, King Rezin of Assyria and King Pekah of Israel [came with their armies] and attacked Jerusalem. They surrounded the city, but they could not conquer it.

6 At that time did Rezin the king of Syria bring Elath back to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath: and the Edomeans came to Elath and dwelt there, even until this day.

At that time the [army of the] king of Edom expelled the people of Judah who were living in Elath [city]. Some of the people of Edom started to live there, and they are still living there.

7 And Achaz then sent messengers to Tiglath-pilesser the king of Assyria, saying, Thy servant and thy son am I: come up, and help me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.

King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, to tell this message to him: “I promise that I will completely do what you tell me to do, [as though] I [was] your son. Please come and rescue us from the armies of Syria and Israel who are attacking my country.”

8 And Achaz took the silver and the gold that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent [the same] to the king of Assyria as a bribe.

Ahaz took the silver and gold that was in the palace and in the temple and sent it to Assyria to be a present/gift for the king of Assyria.

9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and captured it, and led [the people of] it away captive to Kir, and Rezin did he put to death.

So Tiglath-Pileser did what Ahaz requested. His army marched to Damascus and captured it, and they took the people of Damascus as prisoners to live in the capital city of Assyria, and executed [King] Rezin.

10 And King Achaz went to meet Tiglath-pilesser the king of Assyria to Damascus, and he saw the altar that was at Damascus: and king Achaz then sent to Uriyah the priest the form of the altar, and its pattern, after all its workmanship.

When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-Pileser, he saw the altar that was there. So he sent to Uriah, the Supreme Priest [in Jerusalem], a drawing of the altar and a model that was exactly like the altar in Damascus.

11 And Uriyah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that king Achaz had sent from Damascus, so did Uriyah the priest make it against the arrival of king Achaz from Damascus.

So Uriah built an altar [in Jerusalem], following the drawing that King Ahaz had sent. Uriah finished the altar before Ahaz returned [to Jerusalem] from Damascus.

12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached to the altar and offered thereon.

When the king returned from Damascus, he saw the altar. He went to it

13 And he burnt his burnt-offering and his meat-offering, and poured out his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar.

and burned animal sacrifices and a grain offering on it. He also poured a wine offering on it and threw on it the blood of the offerings to maintain fellowship with God.

14 And as respecteth the copper altar which was before the Lord, he moved it back from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and set it on the side of the altar to the north.

The old bronze altar which had been dedicated long ago to Yahweh was between the new altar and the temple, so Ahaz moved it to the north side of his new altar, [which was bigger than the old altar].

15 And king Achaz commanded Uriyah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening meat-offering, and the king's burnt-offering, and his meat-offering, with the burnt-offering of all the people of the land, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offerings; and all the blood of the burnt-offering, and all the blood of the sacrifices shalt thou sprinkle on it; and the copper altar shall be for me to visit occasionally.

Then King Ahaz ordered Uriah: “Each morning put on this new altar the sacrifices that will be completely burned, and in the evening put on it the grain offering, along with my offering and the offerings that the people bring, ones that will be completely burned, and my grain offering and the people’s grain and wine offerings. Pour against the sides of the altar the blood of all the animals that are sacrificed. But the old bronze altar will be only for me to use to find out what Yahweh wants me to do.”

16 And Uriyah the priest did in accordance with all that king Achaz had commanded.

So Uriah did what the king commanded him to do.

17 And king Achaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the lavers from off them; and the sea he took down from off the copper oxen that were under it, and placed it upon a pavement of stones.

King Ahaz told his workers to take off the frames of the carts [that were outside the temple] and to take down the basins that were on them. They also took down the bronze tank from the backs of the bronze [statues of the] oxen and put it on a stone foundation.

18 And the covered passage for the sabbath that they had built on the house, and the outer king's entrance, turned he from the house of the Lord, on account of the king of Assyria.

Then to please the king of Assyria, Ahaz had them remove from the temple the roof under which the people walked into the temple on the Sabbath Day, and closed up the private entrance into the temple for the kings of Judah.

19 Now the rest of the acts of Achaz which he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.

[If you want to know about] the other things that Ahaz did, they are written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

20 And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son became king in his stead.

Ahaz died [EUP], and he was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors had been buried. Then his son Hezekiah became the king.