2 Kings 16

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

In the seventeenth year of Phakee son of Romelias began Achaz the son of Joatham king of Juda to reign.

2 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.

Twenty years old was Achaz when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not that which was right in the eyes of the Lord his God faithfully, as David his father [had done].

3 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.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, he made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.

4 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].

And he sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places, and upon the hills, and under every shady tree.

5 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.

Then went up Raasson king of Syria and Phakee son of Romelias king of Israel against Jerusalem to war, and besieged Achaz, but could not prevail [against him].

6 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.

At that time Raasson king of Syria recovered Aelath to Syria, and drove out the Jews from Aelath, and the Idumeans came to Aelath, and lived there until this day.

7 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.”

And Achaz sent messengers to Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians, saying, I am your servant and your son: come up, deliver me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.

8 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.

And Achaz took the silver and the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and sent gifts to the king.

9 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.

And the king of the Assyrians listened to him: and the king of the Assyrians went up to Damascus and took it, and removed the inhabitants, and killed king Raasson.

10 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.

And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians at Damascus; and he saw an altar at Damascus. And king Achaz sent to Urias the priest the pattern of the altar, and its proportions, and all its workmanship.

11 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.

And Urias the priest built the altar, according to all [the directions] which king Achaz sent from Damascus.

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

And the king saw the altar, and went up to it,

13 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.

and offered his whole burnt offering, and his meat-offering, and his drink-offering, and poured out the blood of his peace-offerings on the brazen altar that was before the Lord.

14 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].

And he brought forward [the one] before the house of the Lord from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and he set it openly by the side of the altar northwards.

15 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.”

And king Achaz charged Urias the priest, saying, Offer upon the great altar the whole burnt offering in the morning and the meat-offering in the evening, and the whole burnt offering of the king, and his meat-offering, and the whole burnt offering of all the people, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offering; and you shall pour all the blood of the whole burnt offering, and all the blood of [any other] sacrifice upon it: and the brazen altar shall be for me in the morning.

16 So Uriah did what the king commanded him to do.

And Urias the priest did according to all that king Achaz commanded him.

17 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.

And king Achaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from the brazen oxen that were under it, and set it upon a base of stone.

18 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.

And he made a base for the throne in the house of the Lord, and he turned the king's entrance without in the house of the Lord because of the king of the Assyrians.

19 [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’.

And the rest of the acts of Achaz, even all that he did, [are] not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?

20 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.

And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Ezekias his son reigned in his stead.