2 Kings — Chapter 16
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1In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
2Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
3Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
4And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
6At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, drove out the men of Judah, and sent the Edomites into Elath, where they live to this day.
7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
8Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
9So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.
10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.
11And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it before King Ahaz returned.
12When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
13He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
14He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar.
15Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance.”
16So Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.
17King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base.
18And on account of the king of Assyria, he removed the Sabbath canopy they had built in the temple and closed the royal entryway outside the house of the LORD.
19As for the rest of the acts of Ahaz, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
1In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.
3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.
4And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5Then 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 overcome him.
6At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.
7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser 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.
8And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
9And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
10And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
11And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
12And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
13and he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.
14And 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 the north side of the altar.
15And 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 the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
16Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
17And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
18And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.
19Now 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?
20And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
1In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, like David his father.
3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel.
4And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5Then 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 overcome him.
6At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there, unto this day.
7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser 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, who rise up against me.
8And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king`s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
9And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried [the people of] it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
10And 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 the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
11And Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.
12And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king drew near unto the altar, and offered thereon.
13And he burnt his burnt-offering and his meal-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace-offerings, upon the altar.
14And the brazen altar, which was before Jehovah, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it on the north side of his altar.
15And 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, with 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: but the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by.
16Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
17And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the laver from off them, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stone.
18And the covered way for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king`s entry without, turned he unto the house of Jehovah, because of the king of Assyria.
19Now 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?
20And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
1In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah.
2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David.
3He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.
4He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him.
6(At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.)
7Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. March up and rescue me from the power of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked me.”
8Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria.
9The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; he attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people to Kir and executed Rezin.
10When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design.
11Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus.
12When the king arrived back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and offered a sacrifice on it.
13He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar.
14He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord’s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord’s temple) and put it on the north side of the new altar.
15King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.”
16So Uriah the priest did exactly as King Ahaz ordered.
17King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea” down from the bronze bulls that supported it and put it on the stone pavement.
18He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway to the Lord’s temple, on account of the king of Assyria.
19The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.
20Ahaz passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.
1In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2Ahaz 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.
3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and 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.
4He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5Then 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.
6At 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.
7So 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.”
8Ahaz 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.
9The 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.
10King 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.
11Urijah the priest built an altar. According to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Urijah the priest made it for the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.
12When the king had come from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king came near to the altar, and offered on it.
13He burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
14The 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.
15King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king’s burnt offering, 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 all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze altar will be for me to inquire by.”
16Urijah the priest did so, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
17King 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.
18He removed the covered way for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry outside to Yahweh’s house, because of the king of Assyria.
19Now 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?
20Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in David’s city, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
Summary
Ahaz becomes king of Judah and plunges into deep apostasy, walking in the ways of Israel's kings and even sacrificing his son in the fire (vv. 1-4). When Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel besiege Jerusalem, Ahaz appeals to Tiglath-pileser of Assyria for rescue, stripping the temple and palace treasuries to pay for the alliance (vv. 5-9). After seeing a pagan altar in Damascus, Ahaz has the priest Uriah build a replica in Jerusalem, displaces the bronze altar of the LORD, and rearranges the temple's furnishings to please the king of Assyria (vv. 10-18). He dies and is succeeded by his son Hezekiah (vv. 19-20).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Samaria — capital of the northern kingdom (Israel); falls to Assyria in 722 BC (ch.17). Jerusalem — capital of Judah; falls to Babylon in 586 BC (ch.25).
- Key locations: Jordan River (Elisha's miracles, chs.2, 5), Damascus (Syria/Aram), Nineveh (Assyrian capital), Babylon (where Judah is exiled).
- Sennacherib's invasion route threatens Jerusalem (chs.18-19). Exile destinations: Assyria (for Israel) and Babylon (for Judah).
Places on this map
- SamariaSebastia, West BankOmri bought a bare hill and built a capital on it, which gave the northern kingdom a fortress with no prior claim on it, the same calculation David made with Jerusalem. It commands the pass west toward the coastal plain. The name later spread to the whole region between Galilee and Judea. Wikipedia
- Assyrianorthern IraqThe upper Tigris heartland around Nineveh, Calah and Asshur. Its armies reached Israel by following the Fertile Crescent north-west and then south down the coast, so the threat always arrived from the north even though Assyria lay to the east. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia
- Jordan RiverIsrael / Jordan borderRuns about 65 miles as the crow flies from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping from 700 to 1,400 feet below sea level. Narrow enough to wade at most fords, it was still the boundary that divided wilderness from inheritance. Wikipedia
- DamascusDamascus, SyriaAn oasis city where the Barada river runs out of the Anti-Lebanon into the desert, about 135 miles north-east of Jerusalem. It sat astride the caravan roads to Mesopotamia and Arabia, which made Aram rich and made it Israel's most persistent northern rival. Wikipedia
- NinevehMosul, IraqAssyria's last capital, on the east bank of the Tigris across from modern Mosul, about 500 miles north-east of Israel. Sennacherib walled in an enormous city here, which is the scale behind Jonah's three days' journey and its 120,000 who cannot tell right from left. Wikipedia
- AramSyriaThe Syrian interior north-east of Israel, a set of city-states rather than one kingdom, with Damascus the strongest. Aramaic, its language, became the everyday speech of the whole region including Judea. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes that Ahaz's sin was not merely personal wickedness but systematic theological replacement. He did not just add pagan elements — he restructured worship around a foreign model, displacing God's design with human preference. Guzik notes that Urijah the priest's compliance shows how institutional religion can become a tool of apostasy when leaders lack the courage to resist political pressure.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 2 Kings -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Sacrificing What's Precious to Fear (v.3) — Driven by pagan practice, Ahaz burned his own son as an offering rather than trust the LORD. What are you willing to sacrifice when fear of your circumstances takes over?
- Trading Sonship for Safety (v.7) — Rather than seek God during the crisis with Syria and Israel, Ahaz begged Assyria for rescue, calling a pagan king his father. What worldly power are you tempted to appeal to instead of trusting God when you feel threatened?
- Reshaping Worship Around What Impresses You (v.10) — Ahaz saw a foreign altar in Damascus and had it copied for the temple, displacing God's own design with his own preference. What has the culture around you quietly reshaped in how you worship?
- Compliant Leadership Enables Apostasy (v.11) — Urijah the priest built the pagan altar without objection, choosing to please the king rather than resist for God. Where might you be going along with something you know is wrong because confronting it feels too costly?
- Stripping Sacred Things to Fund Compromise (vv.17-18) — Ahaz dismantled the temple's furnishings piece by piece to pay tribute to Assyria. What are you quietly stripping from your spiritual life to fund a compromise you've already decided to make?