The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Kings 16
1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the
son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham
king of Judah began to reign.
2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years
in Jerusalem. He didn’t do that which was
right in Yahweh his God’s eyes, like David
his father.
3 But he walked in the way of the kings
of Israel, and even made his son to pass
through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast
out from before the children of Israel.
4 He sacrificed and burned incense inthe
high places, on the hills, and under every
green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah
son of Remaliah king of Israel came up
to Jerusalem to wage war. They besieged
Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
6 At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews
from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath,
and lived there to this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath
Pileser 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
rise up against me.”
8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was
found in Yahweh’s house, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a
present to the king of Assyria.
9 The king of Assyria listened to him; and
the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, and carried its people
captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.
10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet
Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the
altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz
sent to Urijah the priest a drawing of the
altar and plans to build it.
11 Urijah the priest built an altar. According to all that King Ahaz had sentfrom
Damascus, so Urijah the priest made it for
the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.
12 When the king had come from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king
came near to the altar, and offered on it.
13 He burned his burnt offering and his
meal offering, poured his drink offering,
and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
14 The bronze altar, which was before
Yahweh, he brought from the front of the
house, from between his altar and Yahweh’s house, and put it on the north side
of his altar.
15 King Ahaz commanded Urijah the
priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the
morning burnt offering, the evening meal
offering, the king’s burnt offering and his
meal offering, with the burnt offering of all
the people of the land, their meal offering,
and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on
it allthe blood ofthe burnt offering, and all
the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze
altar will be for me to inquire by.”
16 Urijah the priest did so, according to
all that King Ahaz commanded.
17 King Ahaz cut off the panels of the
bases, and removed the basin from off
them, and took down the sea from off the
bronze oxen that were under it, and put it
on a pavement of stone.
18 He removed the covered way for the
Sabbath that they had built in the house,
and the king’s outer entrance to Yahweh’s
house, because of the king of Assyria.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which
he did, aren’t they written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was
buried with his fathers in David’s city; and
Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.