2 Kings 16–20

Judah’s King Ahaz

16In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, ^kAhaz ^lson of Jotham became king of Judah. ²Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king and reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God like his ancestor David ^m3but walked in the way of the kings of Israel. ⁿHe even made his son pass through the fire, ^oimitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites. ^p4He sacrificed and burned incense ^qon the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. ^r

⁵Then ^sAram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him. ^t6At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath. ^uThen the Arameans came to Elath, and they live there until today. ^v

⁷So Ahaz sent messengers ^wto Tiglath-pileser ^xking of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the power of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” ⁸Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a gift. ^y9So the king of Assyria listened to him ^zand marched up to Damascus and captured it. ^aHe deported its people to Kir ^bbut put Rezin to death.

Ahaz’s Idolatry

¹⁰King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser ^cking of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to Uriah the priest. ^d11Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, Uriah the priest had completed it. ¹²When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar ^eand ascended it. ¹³He offered his burnt offering ^fand his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings ^gon the altar. ¹⁴He took the bronze altar ^hthat was before the Lord in front of the temple between his altar and the Lord’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

¹⁵Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.” ⁱ¹⁶Uriah the priest did everything King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts ^jkand removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the reservoir ^lmfrom the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. ¹⁸To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the Lord’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.

Ahaz’s Death

¹⁹The rest ⁿof the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. ^o20Ahaz rested with his fathers ^pand was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

Israel’s King Hoshea

17In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea ^qson of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years. ²He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him. ^r

³Shalmaneser ^sking of Assyria attacked him, ^tand Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute money. ⁴But the king of Assyria discovered Hoshea’s conspiracy. He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt ^uand had not paid tribute money to the king of Assyria as in previous years. ^vTherefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. ⁵Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. ^w

The Fall of Samaria

⁶In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^xthe king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported ^ythe Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes. ^z

Why Israel Fell

⁷This disaster happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt ^aand because they had worshiped ^bother gods. ^c8They had lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites ^dand the customs the kings of Israel had introduced. ^e9The Israelites secretly did what was not right ^fagainst the Lord their God. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower ^gto fortified city. ¹⁰They set up for themselves sacred pillars ^hand Asherah poles ⁱon every high hill and under every green tree. ^j11They burned incense on all the high places just like those nations that the Lord had driven out before them. They did evil things, provoking the Lord. ¹²They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.” ^k13Still, the Lord warned ^lIsrael and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commands and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.” ^m

¹⁴But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like ⁿtheir ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God. ^o15They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors ^pand the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, ^qfollowing the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate. ^r

¹⁶They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images ^sfor themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. ^tThey worshiped the whole heavenly host ^uand served Baal. ^v17They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire ^wand practiced divination and interpreted omens. ^xThey devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and provoked Him. ^y

¹⁸Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. ^zOnly the tribe of Judah remained. ^a19Even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God ^bbut lived according to the customs Israel had introduced. ^c20So the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers until He had banished them from His presence. ^d

Summary of Israel’s History

²¹When the Lord tore ^eIsrael from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. ^fThen Jeroboam led Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit great sin. ²²The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them. ^g23Finally, the Lord removed Israel from His presence just as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland until today. ^h

Foreign Refugees in Israel

²⁴Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. ⁱ²⁵When they first lived there, they did not fear Yahweh. So the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ^j26The settlers spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Therefore He has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don’t know the requirements of the God of the land.”

²⁷Then the king of Assyria issued a command: “Send back one of the priests you deported. ^kHave him go and live there so he can teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ²⁸So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, ^land he began to teach them how they should fear Yahweh.

²⁹But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made. ^m30The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire ⁿto Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim. ³²They feared the Lord, but they also appointed from their number priests to serve them in the shrines of the high places. ^o33They feared the Lord, but they also worshiped their own gods ^paccording to the custom of the nations where they had been deported from.

³⁴They are still practicing the former customs to this day. None of them fear the Lord or observe their statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments the Lord commanded the descendants of Jacob. He had renamed him Israel. ^q35The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, “Do not fear other gods; do not bow down to them; ^rdo not serve them; do not sacrifice to them. ^s36Instead fear the Lord, who brought you from the land of Egypt with great power ^tand an outstretched arm. ^uYou are to bow down to Him, and you are to sacrifice to Him. ³⁷You are to be careful always ^vto observe the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments He wrote for you; do not fear other gods. ³⁸Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you. ^wDo not fear other gods, ³⁹but fear the Lord your God, and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” ^x

⁴⁰However, they would not listen but continued practicing their former customs. ⁴¹These nations feared the Lord but also served their idols. Their children and grandchildren continue doing as their fathers did until today. ^y

Judah’s King Hezekiah

18In the third year of Israel’s King Hoshea ^zson of…