2 Reis 16

¹ In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of RemaliahThis was a wicked son of a godly father, as of him again came godly Hezekiah, and of him wicked Manasseh, save that God in the end showed him mercy. Thus we see how uncertain it is to depend on the dignity of our fathers.Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.

² Twentie yeere olde was Ahaz, when hee began to reigne, and he reigned sixteene yeere in Ierusalem, and did not vprightly in the sight of the Lord his God, like Dauid his father:

³ But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son toThat is, offered him to Molech or made him pass between two fires, as the manner of the Gentiles was, (Lev_18:21; Deu_18:10).pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

⁴ Also he offred and burnt incense in the hie places & on the hilles, & vnder euery greene tree.

⁵ Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcomeFor the Lord preserved the city and his people for the sake of his promise made to David.[him].

⁶ At that time Rezin king of Syria recoveredWhich Azariah had taken from the Syrians and fortified, (2Ki_14:22).Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.

⁷ So Ahaz sentContrary to the admonition of the prophet Isaiah, (Isa_7:4).messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I [am] thy servant and thy 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, which rise up against me.

⁸ And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in theThus he did not spare the temple of God from being spoiled to gain help from men and would not once lift his heart to God to desire his help or hear his prophet's counsel.house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent [it for] a present to the king of Assyria.

⁹ And the King of Asshur consented vnto him: and the King of Asshur went vp against Damascus; when he had taken it, he caryed the people away to Kir, and slew Rezin.

¹⁰ And King Ahaz went vnto Damascus to meete Tiglath Pileser King of Asshur: and when King Ahaz sawe the altar that was at Damascus, he sent to Vriiah the Priest the paterne of the altar, and the facion of it, and all the workemanship thereof.

¹¹ And Urijah the priest built an altarWe see that there is no prince so wicked that he cannot find liars and false ministers to serve his purposes.according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made [it] against king Ahaz came from Damascus.

¹² And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offeredEither offerings for peace or prosperity, or thanksgiving as in (Lev_3:1) or else meaning the morning and evening offering, (Exo_29:38; Num_28:3) and thus he contemned the means and the altar which God had commanded by Solomon, to serve God after his own fantasy.thereon.

¹³ And hee burnt his burnt offering, and his meate offring, and powred his drinke offring, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offrings besides the altar,

¹⁴ And he brought also the brasen altar, which [was] before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on theThat is, at the right hand, as men went into the temple.north side of the altar.

¹⁵ And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and theHere he establishes by commandment his own wicked proceedings, and abolishes the commandment and ordinance of God.brasen altar shall be for me to enquire [by].

¹⁶ And Vriiah the Priest did according to all that King Ahaz had commanded.

¹⁷ And King Ahaz brake the borders of the bases, and tooke the caldrons from off them, and tooke downe the sea from the brasen oxen that were vnder it, and put it vpon a pauement of stones.

¹⁸ And theOr tent, in which they lay on the sabbath, who had served their week in the temple and so departed home.covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORDEither to flatter the king of Assyria, when he should thus see him change the ordinance of God or else that the temple might be a refuge for him if the king should suddenly assault his house.for the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ Concerning the rest of the actes of Ahaz, which he did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah?

²⁰ And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buryed with his fathers in the citie of Dauid, and Hezekiah his sonne reigned in his steade.