2 Kings 16–20

¹In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah reigned hath Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah. ²A son of twenty years is Ahaz in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he hath not done that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, like David his father, ³and he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, and also his son he hath caused to pass over into fire, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel, ⁴and he sacrificeth and maketh perfume in high places, and on the heights, and under every green tree.

⁵Then doth Rezin king of Aram go up, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, to Jerusalem, to battle, and they lay siege to Ahaz, and they have not been able to fight. ⁶At that time hath Rezin king of Aram brought back Elath to Aram, and casteth out the Jews from Elath, and the Aramaeans have come in to Elath, and dwell there unto this day. ⁷And Ahaz sendeth messengers unto Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur, saying, ‘Thy servant and thy son am I; come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.’ ⁸And Ahaz taketh the silver and the gold that is found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the house of the king, and sendeth to the king of Asshur—a bribe. ⁹And hearken unto him doth the king of Asshur, and the king of Asshur goeth up unto Damascus, and seizeth it, and removeth the people of it to Kir, and Rezin he hath put to death.

¹⁰And king Ahaz goeth to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur at Damascus, and seeth the altar that is in Damascus, and king Ahaz sendeth unto Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar, and its pattern, according to all its work, ¹¹and Urijah the priest buildeth the altar according to all that king Ahaz hath sent from Damascus; so did Urijah the priest till the coming in of king Ahaz from Damascus. ¹²And the king cometh in from Damascus, and the king seeth the altar, and the king draweth near on the altar, and offereth on it, ¹³and perfumeth his burnt-offering, and his present, and poureth out his libation, and sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings that he hath, on the altar. ¹⁴As to the altar of brass that is before Jehovah—he bringeth it near from the front of the house, from between the altar and the house of Jehovah, and putteth it on the side of the altar, northward. ¹⁵And king Ahaz commandeth him—Urijah the priest—saying, ‘On the great altar perfume the burnt-offering of the morning, and the present of the evening, and the burnt-offering of the king, and his present, and the burnt-offering of all the people of the land, and their present, and their libations; and all the blood of the burnt-offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice, on it thou dost sprinkle, and the altar of brass is to me to inquire by.’ ¹⁶And Urijah the priest doth according to all that king Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷And king Ahaz cutteth off the borders of the bases, and turneth aside from off them the laver, and the sea he hath taken down from off the brazen oxen that are under it, and putteth it on a pavement of stones. ¹⁸And the covered place for the sabbath that they built in the house, and the entrance of the king without, he turned from the house of Jehovah, because of the king of Asshur. ¹⁹And the rest of the matters of Ahaz that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁰And Ahaz lieth with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers, in the city of David, and reign doth Hezekiah his son in his stead.

Chapter 17

¹In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah reigned hath Hoshea son of Elah in Samaria, over Israel—nine years, ²and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, only, not as the kings of Israel who were before him; ³against him came up Shalmaneser king of Asshur, and Hoshea is to him a servant, and doth render to him a present. ⁴And the king of Asshur findeth in Hoshea a conspiracy, in that he hath sent messengers unto So king of Egypt, and hath not caused a present to go up to the king of Asshur, as year by year, and the king of Asshur restraineth him, and bindeth him in a house of restraint. ⁵And the king of Asshur goeth up into all the land, and he goeth up to Samaria, and layeth siege against it three years; ⁶in the ninth year of Hoshea hath the king of Asshur captured Samaria, and removeth Israel to Asshur, and causeth them to dwell in Halah, and in Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷And it cometh to pass, because the sons of Israel have sinned against Jehovah their God—who bringeth them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt—and fear other gods, ⁸and walk in the statutes of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel that they made; ⁹and the sons of Israel do covertly things that are not right against Jehovah their God, and build for them high places in all their cities, from a tower of the watchers unto the fenced city, ¹⁰and set up for them standing-pillars and shrines on every high height, and under every green tree, ¹¹and make perfume there in all high places, like the nations that Jehovah removed from their presence, and do evil things to provoke Jehovah, ¹²and serve the idols, of which Jehovah said to them, ‘Ye do not do this thing;’ ¹³And Jehovah testifieth against Israel, and against Judah, by the hand of every prophet, and every seer, saying, ‘Turn back from your evil ways, and keep My commands, My statutes, according to all the law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent unto you by the hand of My servants the prophets;’ ¹⁴and they have not hearkened, and harden their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who did not remain stedfast in Jehovah their God, ¹⁵and reject His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies that He testified against them, and go after the vain thing, and become vain, and after the nations that are round about them, of whom Jehovah commanded them not to do like them; ¹⁶And they forsake all the commands of Jehovah their God, and make to them a molten image—two calves, and make a shrine, and bow themselves to all the host of the heavens, and serve Baal, ¹⁷and cause their sons and their daughters to pass over through fire, and divine divinations, and use enchantments, and sell themselves to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him; ¹⁸That Jehovah sheweth himself very angry against Israel, and turneth them aside from His presence; none hath been left, only the tribe of Judah by itself. ¹⁹Also Judah hath not kept the commands of Jehovah their God, and they walk in the statutes of Israel that they had made. ²⁰And Jehovah kicketh against all the seed of Israel, and afflicteth them, and giveth them into the hand of spoilers, till that He hath cast them out of His presence, ²¹for He hath rent Israel from the house of David, and they make Jeroboam son of Nebat king, and Jeroboam driveth Israel from after Jehovah, and hath caused them to sin a great sin, ²²and the sons of Israel walk in all the sins of Jeroboam that he did, they have not turned aside therefrom, ²³till that Jehovah hath turned Israel aside from His presence, as He spake by the hand of all His servants the prophets, and Israel is removed from off its land to Asshur, unto this day.

²⁴And the king of Asshur bringeth in from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and causeth them to dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel, and they possess Samaria, and dwell in its cities; ²⁵and it cometh to pass, at the commencement of their dwelling there, they have not feared Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send among them the lions, and they are destroying among them. ²⁶And they speak to the king of Asshur, saying, ‘The nations that thou hast removed, and dost place in the cities of Samaria, have not known the custom of the God of the land, and He sendeth among them the lions, and lo, they are destroying them, as they do not know the custom of the God of the land.’ ²⁷And the king of Asshur commandeth, saying, ‘Cause to go thither one of the priests whom ye removed thence, and they go and dwell there, and he doth teach them the custom of the God of the land.’ ²⁸And one of the priests whom they removed from Samaria cometh in, and dwelleth in Beth-El, and he is teaching them how they do fear Jehovah, ²⁹and they are making each nation its gods, and place them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans have made, each nation in their cities where they are dwelling. ³⁰And the men of Babylon have made Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Cuth have made Nergal, and the men of Hamath have made Ashima, ³¹and the Avites have made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites are burning their sons with fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, gods of Sepharvim. ³²And they are fearing Jehovah, and make to themselves from their extremities priests of high places, and they are acting for them in the house of the high places. ³³Jehovah they are fearing, and their gods they are serving, according to the custom of the nations whence they removed them. ³⁴Unto this day they are doing according to the former customs—they are not fearing Jehovah, and are not doing according to their statutes, and according to their ordinances, and according to the law, and according to the command, that Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob whose name He made Israel, ³⁵and Jehovah maketh with them a covenant, and chargeth them, saying, ‘Ye do not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them, ³⁶but Jehovah who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a stretched-out arm, Him ye do fear, and to Him ye bow yourselves, and to Him ye do sacrifice; ³⁷and the statutes, and the judgments, and the law, and the command, that He wrote for you, ye observe to do all…