2 Kings 16

1 When Pekah had been ruling Israel for almost 17 years, Ahaz, the son of Jotham, became the king of Judah.

The seuenteenth yeere of Pekah the sonne of Remaliah, Ahaz the sonne of Iotham King of Iudah began to reigne.

2 He was 20 years old when he became the king [of Judah]. He ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. He did not do things that pleased Yahweh his God, good things like his ancestor King David had done.

Twentie yeere olde was Ahaz, when hee began to reigne, and he reigned sixteene yeere in Ierusalem, and did not vprightly in the sight of the Lord his God, like Dauid his father:

3 Instead, he was as sinful as the kings of Israel had been. He even sacrificed his son as an offering to idols. That was worse than the disgusting things that the people who previously lived there had done, people whom Yahweh had expelled as the Israelis were advancing through the land.

But walked in the way of ye kings of Israel, yea, and made his sonne to go through the fire, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense [to honor Yahweh] on the tops of many hills and under many [HYP] big trees, [instead of in Jerusalem as Yahweh had commanded].

Also he offred and burnt incense in the hie places and on the hilles, and vnder euery greene tree.

5 While he was the king of Judah, King Rezin of Assyria and King Pekah of Israel [came with their armies] and attacked Jerusalem. They surrounded the city, but they could not conquer it.

Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah sonne of Remaliah King of Israel came vp to Ierusalem to fight: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not ouercome him.

6 At that time the [army of the] king of Edom expelled the people of Judah who were living in Elath [city]. Some of the people of Edom started to live there, and they are still living there.

At the same time Rezin king of Aram restored Elath to Aram, and droue the Iewes from Elath: so the Aramites came to Elath, and dwelt there vnto this day.

7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, to tell this message to him: “I promise that I will completely do what you tell me to do, [as though] I [was] your son. Please come and rescue us from the armies of Syria and Israel who are attacking my country.”

Then Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Asshur, saying, I am thy seruant and thy sonne: come vp, and deliuer me out of the hand of the king of Aram, and out of the hand of the King of Israel which rise vp against me.

8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was in the palace and in the temple and sent it to Assyria to be a present/gift for the king of Assyria.

And Ahaz tooke the siluer and the golde that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the Kings house, and sent a present vnto the King of Asshur.

9 So Tiglath-Pileser did what Ahaz requested. His army marched to Damascus and captured it, and they took the people of Damascus as prisoners to live in the capital city of Assyria, and executed [King] Rezin.

And the King of Asshur consented vnto him: and the King of Asshur went vp against Damascus. and when he had taken it, he caryed the people away to Kir, and slew Rezin.

10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-Pileser, he saw the altar that was there. So he sent to Uriah, the Supreme Priest [in Jerusalem], a drawing of the altar and a model that was exactly like the altar in Damascus.

And King Ahaz went vnto Damascus to meete Tiglath Pileser King of Asshur: and when King Ahaz sawe the altar that was at Damascus, he sent to Vriiah the Priest the paterne of the altar, and the facion of it, and all the workemanship thereof.

11 So Uriah built an altar [in Jerusalem], following the drawing that King Ahaz had sent. Uriah finished the altar before Ahaz returned [to Jerusalem] from Damascus.

And Vriiah the Priest made an altar in al poyntes like to that which King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Vriiah the Priest against King Ahaz came from Damascus.

12 When the king returned from Damascus, he saw the altar. He went to it

So when the King was come from Damascus, the King sawe the altar: and the King drewe neere to the altar and offered thereon.

13 and burned animal sacrifices and a grain offering on it. He also poured a wine offering on it and threw on it the blood of the offerings to maintain fellowship with God.

And hee burnt his burnt offering, and his meate offring, and powred his drinke offring, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offrings besides the altar,

14 The old bronze altar which had been dedicated long ago to Yahweh was between the new altar and the temple, so Ahaz moved it to the north side of his new altar, [which was bigger than the old altar].

And set it by the brasen altar which was before the Lord, and brought it in farther before the house betweene the altar and the house of the Lord, and set it on the North side of the altar.

15 Then King Ahaz ordered Uriah: “Each morning put on this new altar the sacrifices that will be completely burned, and in the evening put on it the grain offering, along with my offering and the offerings that the people bring, ones that will be completely burned, and my grain offering and the people’s grain and wine offerings. Pour against the sides of the altar the blood of all the animals that are sacrificed. But the old bronze altar will be only for me to use to find out what Yahweh wants me to do.”

And King Ahaz commanded Vriiah the Priest, and sayde, Vpon the great altar set on fire in the morning the burnt offring, and in the euen the meate offring, and the Kings burnt offring and his meate offering, with the burnt offring of all the people of the lande, and their meate offring, and their drinke offrings: and powre thereby all the blood of the burnt offring, and all the blood of the sacrifice, and the brasen altar shalbe for me to inquire of God.

16 So Uriah did what the king commanded him to do.

And Vriiah the Priest did according to all that King Ahaz had commanded.

17 King Ahaz told his workers to take off the frames of the carts [that were outside the temple] and to take down the basins that were on them. They also took down the bronze tank from the backs of the bronze [statues of the] oxen and put it on a stone foundation.

And King Ahaz brake the borders of the bases, and tooke the caldrons from off them, and tooke downe the sea from the brasen oxen that were vnder it, and put it vpon a pauement of stones.

18 Then to please the king of Assyria, Ahaz had them remove from the temple the roof under which the people walked into the temple on the Sabbath Day, and closed up the private entrance into the temple for the kings of Judah.

And the vaile for the Sabbath (that they had made in the house) and the Kings entrie without turned he to the house of the Lord, because of the King of Asshur.

19 [If you want to know about] the other things that Ahaz did, they are written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

Concerning the rest of the actes of Ahaz, which he did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah?

20 Ahaz died [EUP], and he was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors had been buried. Then his son Hezekiah became the king.

And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buryed with his fathers in the citie of Dauid, and Hezekiah his sonne reigned in his steade.