SECOND KINGS

2 Kings Chapter 16

1 ¶ Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign during the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah.

2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his ancestor David had done.

3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, in accord with the abominable practices of the heathen, whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.

4 And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 ¶ Then Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

6 At that time Rezin king of Syria got back Elath for Syria, and drove the Jews from it: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwell there to this day.

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son: come up, and save me from the king of Syria, and from the king of Israel, who are attacking me.

8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s palace, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.

9 And the king of Assyria listened to him: and he went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.

10 ¶ And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser the king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was in Damascus: and king Ahaz sent a model of the altar to Urijah the priest, with a pattern for it, and complete plans for its construction.

11 So Urijah the priest constructed an altar in accordance with all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: and Urijah the priest finished it before king Ahaz returned from Damascus.

12 And when the king returned from Damascus, he saw the altar: and the king approached the altar, and offered on it.

13 He burned his burnt offering and his food offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, on the altar.

14 And he also removed the brass altar, which was before the LORD, from the front of the temple, between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar.

15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Burn the morning burnt offering, the evening food offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his food offering, together with the burnt offerings of all the people of the land, and their food offerings, and their drink offerings on the great altar; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offerings, and all the blood of the sacrifices: but I will use the brass altar to make inquires.

16 So Urijah the priest, did all this as king Ahaz commanded.

17 ¶ And king Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands, and removed the laver from each of them; and removed the sea from the brass oxen that were under it, and put it on a base made of stone.

18 And he removed the covered walk used on the sabbath that they had built in the temple court, and the king’s outer entrance, from the house of the LORD because of the king of Assyria.

19 Now the rest of the acts that Ahaz did, are they not written in the book of the records of the kings of Judah?

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 stead.