2 Chronicles 28

Ahaz Succeeds Jotham in Judah

11Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and 2he did not do right in the sight of the Lord as David his father had done. 23But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also 4made molten images for the Baals. 3Moreover, 5he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and 6burned his sons in fire, 7according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel. 4He sacrificed and 8burned incense on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Is Invaded

5Wherefore, 9the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they 10defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who 11inflicted him with heavy casualties. 6For 12Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. 7And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.

813The sons of Israel carried away captive of 14their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they 15took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and 16he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, 17was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage 18which has even reached heaven. 10Now you are proposing to 19subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have transgressions of your own against the Lord your God? 11Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives 20whom you captured from your brothers, 21for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.” 12Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim--Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai--arose against those who were coming from the battle, 13and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring upon us guilt against the Lord adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that His burning anger is against Israel.” 14So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the officers and all the assembly. 15Then 22the men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and 23gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, 24the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Compromise with Assyria

1625At that time King Ahaz sent to the 26kings of Assyria for help. 1727For again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives. 1828The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the 29lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there. 19For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of 30Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the Lord. 20So 31Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 2132Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

22Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz 33became yet more unfaithful to the Lord. 2334For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had 35defeated him, and said, “36Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the 37downfall of him and all Israel. 24Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he 38cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he 39closed the doors of the house of the Lord and 40made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. 25In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger. 2641Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 2742So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of 43Israel; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.