^28:16At that time King Ahaz asked the king²⁵ of Assyria for help. ^28:17The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. ^28:18The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the lowlands²⁶ and the Negev. They captured and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages. ^28:19The Lord humiliated²⁷ Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel,²⁸ for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very²⁹ unfaithful to the Lord. ^28:20King Tiglath-pileser³⁰ of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support.³¹^28:21Ahaz gathered riches³² from the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.

^28:22During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. ^28:23He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him.³³ He reasoned,³⁴ “Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they caused him and all Israel to stumble.

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Footnotes

25 Most Hebrew read the plural, “kings,” but one Hebrew , the and read the singular “king.” Note the singular in v. 20.
26 Heb “Shephelah.”
27 Or “subdued.”
28 That is, “of Judah.” Frequently in 2 Chronicles “Israel” is substituted for “Judah.”
29 The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the degree of Ahaz’s unfaithfulness.
30 Heb “Tilgath-pilneser,” a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.
31 Heb “and he caused him distress and did not strengthen him.”
32 Heb “divided up,” but some read חִלֵּץ (khillets, “despoiled”).
33 Heb “the gods of Damascus, the ones who had defeated him.” The words “he thought” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The perspective is that of Ahaz, not the narrator! Another option is that “the kings” has been accidentally omitted after “gods of.” See v. 23b.
34 Heb “said.”