2 Kings 16: Ahaz, and the altar copied from Damascus

In plain English: In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah became king.

In plain English: Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, as his father (or: ancestor) David had done.

In plain English: He walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even made his son pass through the fire, following the disgusting practices (this Bible: abominations) of the nations that Yahweh had driven out from before the children of Israel.

Good to know: Making a son or daughter "pass through the fire" is forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10 (see the note there), and Leviticus 18:21 names Molech (see the note there). The text here does not say more about what Ahaz did. 2 Chronicles 28:3 tells it in other words: he "burned his children in the fire".

In plain English: He sacrificed and burned incense at the high places, on the hills, and under every green (or: leafy) tree.

In plain English: Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to make war. They besieged Ahaz, but they could not overcome him (literally: were not able to fight).

Good to know: Isaiah 7:1 tells the same: Rezin and Pekah "went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it".

In plain English: At that time Rezin king of Syria brought Elath back to Syria (Hebrew: Aram) and drove the Jews out of Elath. The Syrians (or: the Edomites; see the note) came to Elath, and they have lived there to this day.

Good to know: The Hebrew letters as written spell "Syrians" (Arameans), as this Bible has it. The dictionary entry for that word says "an Edomite (as in the margin)": the reading given in the margin of the Hebrew is "Edomites". The STEPBible meaning for this verse gives "Edomites", and the old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "the Idumeans", that is, Edomites. In Hebrew the names Aram and Edom are written with letters that look much alike (see the note on 2 Samuel 8:13). The text does not say which.

In plain English: So 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 (literally: the palm) of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me."

In plain English: Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in Yahweh's house and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a gift (or: a bribe; see the note) to the king of Assyria.

The Hebrew word: "Present" is shochad, which the dictionary gives as "a donation (venal or redemptive)": a gift given to buy favor or to buy someone free. This Bible says "bribe" or a longer form in 17 of the 21 verses that use it. Here it says "present".

In plain English: The king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it. He carried its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.

Good to know: Kir is named again in Amos 1:5, in the words given there as Yahweh's: "the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir".

In plain English: King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he saw the altar that was at Damascus. King Ahaz sent Urijah the priest a likeness (this Bible: a drawing) of the altar and its pattern (this Bible: plans), with all its workmanship.

The Hebrew word: "Plans" is tabnith, which the dictionary gives as "structure; by implication, a model, resemblance". It is the word for "the pattern of the tabernacle" that Yahweh showed Moses in Exodus 25:9.

In plain English: Urijah the priest built the altar. He made it in every way as King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, before King Ahaz came back (literally: until King Ahaz came) from Damascus.

In plain English: When the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar. The king came near to the altar and went up on it (or: offered on it).

In plain English: He burned his burnt offering and his grain offering (this Bible: meal offering), poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.

In plain English: The bronze altar that was before Yahweh he moved from the front of the house, from between the altar (this Bible: his altar) and Yahweh's house, and put it on the north side of the altar.

Good to know: "The bronze altar that was before Yahweh" is named in 1 Kings 8:64, at the dedication of Solomon's temple. The text says Ahaz moved it to the north side, and in verse 15 he keeps it for himself.

In plain English: King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest: "On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering and their drink offerings. Sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offerings and all the blood of the sacrifices. But the bronze altar will be for me to inquire by (or: to consider; see the note)."

The Hebrew word: "To inquire by" is baqar, which the dictionary gives as "properly, to plough, or (generally) break forth, i.e. (figuratively) to inspect, admire, care for, consider". The same Hebrew letters spell "morning" earlier in this verse ("the morning burnt offering"). The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) reads them that way: "the brazen altar shall be for me in the morning".

What changes: Read as "to inquire by", Ahaz keeps the bronze altar for seeking an answer. Read as "to consider" or "to care for", he keeps it for himself to look after. Read as the old Greek has it, it is for his use in the morning. The text does not say more.

In plain English: Urijah the priest did everything King Ahaz commanded.

In plain English: King Ahaz cut off the panels (or: rims) of the stands (this Bible: bases) and removed the basin from them. He took the sea down from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement.

Good to know: These are the stands, the basins and the sea that Solomon made for Yahweh's house: see the notes on 1 Kings 7:23 (the sea), 7:27 (the bases) and 7:28 (the panels).

In plain English: He removed (or: turned round; see the note) the covered way for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's outer entrance, in Yahweh's house, because of the king of Assyria.

The Hebrew words: "Covered way" is meysak, which the dictionary gives as "a portico (as covered)". It is in only this verse of the Bible, and the text does not describe it. "Removed" is savav, which the dictionary gives as "to revolve, surround, or border". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "he turned the king's entrance without in the house of the Lord".

What changes: Read as "removed", Ahaz took these things away. Read as "turned round", he changed them in Yahweh's house. Either way, the text says he did it "because of the king of Assyria" and does not explain more.

In plain English: The rest of what Ahaz did, is it not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

In plain English: Ahaz slept with his fathers (or: ancestors) and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His son Hezekiah became king in his place.