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28
1 Ahaz was twenty when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the Lord's sight as his forefather David had. 2 He followed the example of the kings of Israel, and also cast metal idols for worshiping the Baals. 3 He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and sacrificed his children in the fire, following the disgusting practices of the peoples the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 4 He presented sacrifices and burned incense offerings on the high places, on the mountain tops, and under every living tree.
5 As a result, the Lord his God let the king of Aram conquer Ahaz. The Arameans attacked him and captured many of his people, taking them to Damascus. Ahaz was also defeated by the king of Israel in a massive attack. 6 In just one day, Pekah, son of Remaliah, killed 120,000 fighting men in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers. 7 Zichri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the son of the king; Azrikam, the palace governor; and Elkanah, the king's second-in-command. 8 The Israelites captured 200,000 of their “brothers”*“Brothers”: the text does actually say brothers, to make the point that the people of Israel and Judah were related to one another.—women, sons, and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder and brought it to Samaria.
9 But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there in Samaria, and he went out to meet the returning army. He told them, “It was because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah that he allowed you to defeat them. But you have killed them with such fury that it has upset heaven. 10 Now you're planning to turn these people from Judah and Jerusalem into slaves. But aren't you also guilty of sinning against the Lord your God? 11 Listen to me! Return the prisoners you've taken from your brothers, the fierce anger of the Lord is falling upon you!”
12 Some of the leaders of the people of Ephraim†“Ephraim”: meaning Israel.—Azariah, son of Jehohanan, Berechiah, son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah, son of Shallum, and Amasa, son of Hadlai—stood up in opposition against those returning from the war. 13 “Don't you bring those prisoners here!” they told them. “If you do you will only add to our sins and wrongdoing against the Lord. Our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger is falling upon Israel.”
14 So the armed men left the prisoners and the plunder before the leaders and all the people gathered there. 15 The men named above got up and took clothes from the plunder to those that had none, gave them sandals to wear, and food and drink, and put olive oil on their wounds. Those who couldn't walk any more they put on donkeys, and took them all to Jericho, the town of palms, to be close to the people of Judah.‡“The people of Judah” added for clarity. The Hebrew simply says “their brothers.”
16 It was then that King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help. 17 The armies of Edom had once again invaded Judah and taken people prisoner, 18 while the Philistines had attacked the towns in the foothills and the Negev of Judah. They had captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, along with Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo and their villages. 19 The Lord had brought Judah down because Ahaz, king of Israel, was out of control in Judah, sinning terribly against the Lord.
20 So Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came to Ahaz but attacked rather than helped him. 21 Ahaz took what was valuable from the Lord's Temple, the king's palace, and from his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But it didn't help him.
22 Even at this time when he was having so much trouble, King Ahaz sinned more and more against the Lord. 23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, whose army had defeated him, for he said to himself, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I'll sacrifice to them so they can help me.” But this led to the ruin of Ahaz and of all Israel.
24 Ahaz took the sacred items from the Lord's Temple and smashed them to pieces. He barred the doors of the Lord's Temple and set up pagan altars on every corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every town throughout Judah he set up high places to make offerings to pagan gods, angering the Lord, the God of his forefathers.
26 The rest of what Ahaz did, from beginning to end, is written down in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz died, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem. They did not bury him in the tombs of the kings of Israel. Hezekiah his son took over as king.

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*28:8 “Brothers”: the text does actually say brothers, to make the point that the people of Israel and Judah were related to one another.

†28:12 “Ephraim”: meaning Israel.

‡28:15 “The people of Judah” added for clarity. The Hebrew simply says “their brothers.”

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher