2 Kings16
New King James Version
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 became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done.
3But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel.
4And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
6At that time Rezin king of Syria captured Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Edomites went to Elath, and dwell 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 from the hand of the king of Syria and from 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 the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.
9So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.
10Now 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 design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.
11Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus.
12And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it.
13So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
14He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar.
15Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze 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 carts, and removed the lavers from them; and he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stones.
18Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king’s outer entrance from the house of the Lord, on account 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?
20So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
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.
Supported by JFB
Confirms that passing through the fire meant sacrificing sons and daughters to devils.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB