2 Chronicles 28

Ahaz Reigns in Judah

28Ahaz ^awas twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. ²For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made ^bmolded images for ^cthe Baals. ³He burned incense in ^dthe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned ^ehis children in the ^ffire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had ^gcast out before the children of Israel. ⁴And he sacrificed and burned incense on the ¹high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Syria and Israel Defeat Judah

⁵Therefore ^hthe Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They ⁱdefeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. ⁶For ^jPekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, ^kbecause they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. ⁷Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was second to the king. ⁸And the children of Israel carried away captive of their ^lbrethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much ²spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Israel Returns the Captives

⁹But a ^mprophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: “Look, ⁿbecause the Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but you have killed them in a rage that ^oreaches up to heaven. ¹⁰And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your ^pmale and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? ¹¹Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, ^qfor the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

¹²Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war, ¹³and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the Lord. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” ¹⁴So the armed men left the captives and the ³spoil before the leaders and all the assembly. ¹⁵Then the men ^rwho were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the ⁴spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, ^sgave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, ^tthe city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Assyria Refuses to Help Judah

^16uAt the same time King Ahaz sent to the ⁵kings of Assyria to help him. ¹⁷For again the ^vEdomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives. ^18wThe Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there. ¹⁹For the Lord ⁶brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of ^xIsrael, for he had ^yencouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰Also ^zTiglath-Pileser ⁷king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. ²¹For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz

²²Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. ²³For ^ahe sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them ^bthat they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. ²⁴So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, ^cshut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵And in every single city of Judah he made ⁸high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.

^26dNow the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷So Ahaz ⁹rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they ^edid not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.