God’s Word Translation
2 Kings 16:4
4He offered sacrifices and burned incense as an offering at the illegal worship sites, which were on hills and under every large tree.
2 Kings 16:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
- New International Version (NIV)He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Context of 2 Kings 16:4
2Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 26 years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do what the Lord his God considered right, as his ancestor David had done. 3He followed the example of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son by burning him alive. Sacrificing ⌞children⌟ was one of the disgusting things done by the nations that the Lord had forced out of the Israelites’ way. He offered sacrifices and burned incense as an offering at the illegal worship sites, which were on hills and under every large tree. 5Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah, son of Remaliah of Israel, came to wage war against Jerusalem. They blockaded Ahaz but couldn’t get him to fight. 6At that time King Rezin of Aram drove the Judeans out of Elath and gave it back to Edom. The Edomites came to Elath and still live there today.
Read all of 2 Kings 162 Kings 16:4 word by word
וַיְזַבֵּ֧חַ וַיְקַטֵּ֛ר בַּבָּמ֖וֹת וְעַל־הַגְּבָע֑וֹת וְתַ֖חַת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ רַעֲנָֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 2 Kings 16:4
- Deuteronomy 12:2Completely destroy all the worship sites on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every large tree. The people you’re forcing out worship their gods in these places.
- 1 Kings 14:23They built worship sites for themselves and ⌞put up⌟ large stones and Asherah poles to worship on every high hill and under every large tree.
- Isaiah 57:5You burn with lust under oak trees and under every large tree. You slaughter children in the valleys and under the cracks in the rocks.
- Isaiah 65:4They sat among the graves and spent their nights in caves. They ate pork and in their pots made broth from unclean foods.
- Isaiah 66:17People make themselves holy and prepare themselves for their garden rituals. They go into the garden and devour pork, disgusting things, and mice. “They will come to an end at the same time,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 17:2Even their children remember their altars and their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah beside large trees on high hills
- Ezekiel 20:28I brought them to the land that I promised to give them. When they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, they made sacrifices and brought offerings there to make me angry. There they offered their sacrifices and poured out their wine offerings.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 16:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4He sacrificed - Other kings of Judah bad allowed their people to do so. Ahaz was the first, so far as we know, to countenance the practice by his own example.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-162Ki 16:1-16. Ahaz' Wicked Reign over Judah. 1-4. Ahaz ... did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord--[See on 2Ch 28:1.] The character of this king's reign, the voluptuousness and religious degeneracy of all classes of the people, are graphically portrayed in the writings of Isaiah, who prophesied at that period. The great increase of worldly wealth and luxury in the reigns of Azariah and Jotham had introduced a host of corruptions, which…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 16:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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