2 Kings16
King James Version · Public Domain
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 Uriah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
11And Uriah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Uriah 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 Uriah 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 Uriah 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.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 2 Kings 16.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Ahaz, king of Judah, His wicked reign. (1–9). Ahaz takes a pattern from an idol's altar. (10–16). Ahaz spoils the temple. (17–20).
vv1-9
Few and evil were the days of Ahaz. Those whose hearts condemn them, will go any where in a day of distress, rather than to God. The sin was its own punishment. It is common for those who bring themselves into straits by one sin, to try to help themselves out by another.
vv10-16
God's altar had hitherto been kept in its place, and in use; but Ahaz put another in the room of it. The natural regard of the mind of man to some sort of religion, is not easily extinguished; but except it be regulated by the word, and by the Spirit of God, it produces absurd superstitions, or detestable idolatries. Or, at best, it quiets the sinner's conscience with unmeaning ceremonies. Infidels have often been remarkable for believing ridiculous falsehoods.
vv17-20
Ahaz put contempt upon the sabbath, and thus opened a wide inlet to all manner of sin. This he did for the king of Assyria. When those who have had a ready passage to the house of the Lord, turn it another way to please their neighbours, they are going down-hill apace to ruin.
Key Words
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
פֶּקַח: Pekach, an Israelite king
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
רְמַלְיָהוּ: Remaljah, an Israelite
אָחָז: Achaz, the name of a Jewish king and of an Israelite
יוֹתָם: Jotham, the name of three Israelites
מֶלֶךְ: a king
יְהוּדָה: Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory
מָלַךְ: to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel
עֶשְׂרִים: twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth
Cross References
2 Kings 16Parallel account of Ahaz's accession, age, and initial plunge into Canaanite and Israelite idolatry.
Supported by JFB
The exact historical and prophetic context of Syria and Israel's joint siege of Jerusalem under Ahaz.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Directly prophesied the capture of Damascus and the exile of its people to Kir.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explains Ahaz's motivation: sacrificing to Damascus's gods, thinking they would help him.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Identifies the sacrificial site (Topheth/Moloch) where children were made to pass through the fire.
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The Mosaic law explicitly forbidding offering children to Moloch, which Ahaz violated.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Deuteronomic prohibition against making sons or daughters pass through the fire.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Identifies Uriah the priest as a contemporary witness utilized by the prophet Isaiah.
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Connects Elath's loss back to its original recovery and building by Azariah.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Locates Elath near Ezion-geber on the Red Sea shore, showing its commercial importance.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Shows that Tiglath-pileser ultimately distressed Ahaz instead of helping or strengthening him.
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Contrasts God's authorized, divinely revealed temple plans with Ahaz's self-styled pagan copy.
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Further details of Ahaz cutting up the temple vessels and shutting its doors.
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Describes the original design of the bronze bases and sea that Ahaz dismantled.
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Confirms that passing through the fire meant sacrificing sons and daughters to devils.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB