16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
16:3 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
16:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
16:5 Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him.
16:6 At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the men of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.
16:7 Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”
16:8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
16:9 The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.
16:10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction.
16:11 So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned.
16:12 When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
16:13 He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.
16:14 The bronze altar that stood before the LORD he brought from the front of the temple–from between the new altar and the temple of the LORD–and put it on the north side of the new altar.
16:15 King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: “On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.”
16:16 And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.
16:17 King Ahaz took away the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base.
16:18 He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the LORD, in deference to the king of Assyria.
16:19 As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
16:20 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, the king of Judah, began to reign.
16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the sight of Jehovah his God, as David his father had done,
16:3 But walked in the way of the kings of Israel; and he even caused his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.
16:4 And he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places and on the hills and under every flourishing tree.
16:5 Then Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to battle. And they besieged Ahaz, but they were not able to fight with him.
16:6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria restored Elath to Syria and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath and have dwelt there to this day.
16:7 And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son; come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who have risen up against me.
16:8 And Ahaz took the silver and the gold that was found in the house of Jehovah and in the treasuries of the king s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.
16:9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. And the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and he took it and carried the people of it away captive to Kir. And he killed Rezin.
16:10 And King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria at Damascus, and he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the form of the altar and the pattern of it, according to all its workmanship.
16:11 And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. Urijah the priest made it that way before King Ahaz came from Damascus.
16:12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and offered upon it.
16:13 And he burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar.
16:14 And the bronze altar which was before Jehovah, he brought forward from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it by the side of his altar on the north.
16:15 And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering, and the king s burnt offering and his meal offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their meal offering and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.
16:16 And Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz had commanded.
16:17 And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases and removed the laver from off them; and he took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it upon a pavement of stone.
16:18 And the covered way for use on the Sabbath, which they had built in the house, and the king s entry outside, he removed from the house of Jehovah because of the king of Assyria.
16:19 And the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
16:20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.