^16:1In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah. ^16:2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem.¹ He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David.²^16:3He followed in the footsteps of³ the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire,⁴ a horrible sin practiced by the nations⁵ whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. ^16:4He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

^16:5At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem.⁶ They besieged Ahaz,⁷ but were unable to conquer him.⁸^16:6(At that time King Rezin of Syria⁹ recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there.¹⁰ Syrians¹¹ arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) ^16:7Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent.¹² March up and rescue me from the power¹³ of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked¹⁴ me.” ^16:8Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were¹⁵ in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute¹⁶ to the king of Assyria. ^16:9The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request;¹⁷ he¹⁸ attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people¹⁹ to Kir and executed Rezin.

^16:10When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there.²⁰ King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design.²¹^16:11Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus.²² Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus.²³^16:12When the king arrived back from Damascus and²⁴ saw the altar, he approached it²⁵ and offered a sacrifice on it.²⁶^16:13He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. ^16:14He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord’s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord’s temple) and put it on the north side of the new²⁷ altar. ^16:15King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar²⁸ offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of Israel, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.”²⁹^16:16So Uriah the priest did exactly as³⁰ King Ahaz ordered.

^16:17King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea”³¹ down from the bronze bulls that supported it³² and put it on the pavement. ^16:18He also removed the Sabbath awning³³ that had been built³⁴ in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria.³⁵

^16:19The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.³⁶^16:20Ahaz passed away³⁷ and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

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Footnotes

1 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
2 Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the Lord his God, like David his father.”
3 Heb “he walked in the way of.”
4 This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
5 Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
6 Heb “went up to Jerusalem for battle.”
7 That is, Jerusalem, Ahaz’s capital city.
8 Heb “they were unable to fight.” The object must be supplied from the preceding sentence. Elsewhere when the Niphal infinitive of לָחָם (lakham) follows the verb יָכֹל (yakhol), the infinitive appears to have the force of “prevail against.” See Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9; and the parallel passage in Isa 7:1.
9 Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ’aram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ’edom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.
10 Heb “from Elat.”
11 The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew , the version, and some of the and , read “Syrians” (Heb “Arameans”). The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the , Targums, and , reads “Edomites.”
12 Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-pileser’s subject.
13 Heb “hand, palm.”
14 Heb “who have arisen against.”
15 Heb “that was found.”
16 Or “bribe money.”
17 Heb “listened to him.”
18 Heb “the king of Assyria.”
19 Heb “it.”
20 Heb “in Damascus.”
21 Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”
22 Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”
23 Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”
24 Heb “and the king.”
25 Heb “the altar.”
26 Or “ascended it.”
27 The word “new” is added in the translation for clarification.
28 That is, the newly constructed altar.
29 Heb “for me to seek.” The precise meaning of בָּקַר (baqar), “seek,” is uncertain in this context. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
30 Heb “according to all which.”
31 See the note at .
32 Heb “that [were] under it.”
33 The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מוּסַךְ (musakh; Qere) / מִיסַךְ (misakh; Kethib) is uncertain. For discussion see מוּסַךְ and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
34 Heb “that they built.”
35 It is doubtful that Tiglath-pileser ordered these architectural changes. Ahaz probably made these changes so he could send some of the items and materials to the Assyrian king as tribute. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), , .
36 Heb “As for the rest of the events of Ahaz, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
37 Heb “lay down with his fathers.”