2 Chronicles 28

28 ¹ Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of our Father, as his ancestor David had done, ² Instead, he followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even made metal idols for the Baals. ³ He burned incense in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his own sons in the fire, following the detestable practices of the nations our Father had driven out ahead of the people of Israel. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every spreading tree. ^a a v4 High places were hilltop or open-air shrines used for pagan worship throughout Canaan.

⁵ So our Father handed him over to the king of Aram. They defeated him, took a great many of his people captive, and brought them to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy losses on him. ⁶ Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah in a single day, all of them brave men, because they had abandoned our Father, the God of their ancestors. ⁷ Zichri, a mighty warrior of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, who was second to the king. ⁸ The Israelites captured two hundred thousand of their own relatives: women, sons, and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder and carried it off to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of our Father was there named Oded. He went out to meet the army as it returned to Samaria and said to them, "Look, our Father, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, so he handed them over to you. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you intend to make the people of Judah and Jerusalem your male and female slaves. But are you not yourselves guilty of sins against your Father? ¹¹ Now listen to me: send back the relatives you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of our Father is upon you." ¹² Then some of the leaders of the Ephraimites—Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—stood up against those who were returning from the war. ¹³ "You must not bring these captives here," they said, "for you are proposing to add to our sins and our guilt against our Father. Our guilt is already great, and fierce anger hangs over Israel."

¹⁴ So the soldiers handed over the captives and the plunder in front of the officials and the whole assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men just named took charge of the captives, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked among them. They gave them clothes and sandals, food and drink, and anointed them with oil. They set all the weak ones on donkeys and brought them to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the city of palms. Then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help. ¹⁷ The Edomites had invaded Judah once again and carried off captives, ¹⁸ while the Philistines had raided the towns of the foothills and the Negev of Judah. They captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages, and they settled there. ¹⁹ Our Father had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had led Judah into wickedness and had been utterly unfaithful to our Father. ^b b v19 Ahaz reigned over Judah; calling him "king of Israel" marks how completely he had taken up the ways of the northern kingdom's faithless kings. ²⁰ Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he brought him trouble instead of help. ²¹ Ahaz stripped the house of our Father, the royal palace, and the officials of their treasures and gave them to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

²² In his time of distress, this same King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to our Father. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, for he thought, "Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me." But they became his downfall and the downfall of all Israel. ²⁴ Ahaz gathered up the articles of the house of our Father and cut them to pieces. He shut the doors of the house of our Father and set up altars for himself at every street corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every town of Judah he made high places where he burned offerings to other gods, provoking the anger of our Father, the God of his ancestors.

²⁶ As for the rest of his deeds and all his ways, from beginning to end, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city, in Jerusalem; but he was not brought into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son became king in his place.