2 Chronicles
Chapter 28
1 Ahaz was twenty when he became king, and he ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. However, he did not do what was right in God’s eyes, unlike his ancestor David.
2 He followed the paths of Israel’s kings, and also made metal idols for Baals.
3 He also burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and burned his children in the fire, following the shameful practices of the nations that God had driven out before the Israelites.
4 He also made sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 So, God handed him over to the king of Syria; they beat him, took many of his people as prisoners, and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who defeated him with heavy losses.
6 Pekah, son of Remaliah, killed 120,000 brave men in Judah in one day because they abandoned the God of their ancestors.
7 Zichri, a strong man from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the house leader, and Elkanah who was close to the king.
8 The Israelites captured 200,000 of their own people, including women and children, took a lot of their possessions, and brought them to Samaria.
9 A prophet named Oded was there. He met the army going to Samaria and said, “Look, God was angry with Judah, so he let you defeat them. But you killed them in such anger that it has reached heaven.”
10 You plan to make the people of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against God?
11 Listen to me now and return the prisoners you have taken from your relatives, because God is very angry with you.
12 Some leaders from the Ephraim family, Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, stood up against the soldiers returning from battle.
13 He told them, “Do not bring the prisoners here because we have already sinned against God, and you plan to make us sin more and do wrong. Our wrongdoing is serious, and there is strong anger towards Israel.”
14 The soldiers let go of the prisoners and the loot in front of the leaders and all the people.
15 The men who were named stood up, took the prisoners, and used the loot to dress all the naked ones among them. They gave them clothes, shoes, food, and drink, and put oil on their wounds. They put all the weak ones on donkeys and took them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their own people, and then they went back to Samaria.
16 At that time, King Ahaz asked the kings of Assyria for help.
17 The Edomites attacked Judah again, defeated them, and took prisoners.
18 The Philistines attacked and took over the towns in the lowlands and in the southern part of Judah. They captured Bethshemesh, Ajalon, Gederoth, Shocho and their surrounding villages, as well as Timnah, Gimzo and their villages, and then lived there.
19 God made Judah weak because of Ahaz king of Israel; Ahaz caused great shame to Judah and greatly disobeyed God.
20 The king of Assyria, Tilgath-pilneser, came to him and caused him trouble, but did not help him.
21 Ahaz took some things from God’s house, the king’s house, and the princes’ houses and gave them to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.
22 During his hard times, he sinned even more against God: this was King Ahaz.
23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him. He thought, “Since the gods of the Syrian kings aid them, I will sacrifice to them so they might help me.” But those gods caused his downfall and that of all Israel.
24 Ahaz collected God’s house items, broke them, closed God’s house doors, and made altars in all parts of Jerusalem.
25 In each city of Judah, he built high places to burn incense to other gods, making God, the God of his ancestors, angry.
26 The other things he did and all his actions, from beginning to end, are recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
27 Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs, and his son Hezekiah became king after him.