Reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah

Chapter 28

The Impiety of Ahaz. ¹ Ahaz was twenty years old when he ascended the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. Unlike what his ancestor David had done, he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord. ² Rather, he followed the example of the kings of Israel and even cast molten idols of the Baals.

³ Furthermore, Ahaz offered burnt sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-hinnom^[a] and even went so far as to immolate his sons by fire according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Retribution. ⁵ Therefore, the Lord his God delivered him over into the hands of the king of Aram. After the Arameans defeated him, they took large numbers of captives and brought them to Damascus. He was also given over into the power of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him.^{[b] 6} In a single day, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed one hundred and twenty thousand valiant warriors.

⁷ Zichri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son, Azrikam, the commander of the palace, and Elkanah, who was second only to the king in authority. ⁸ The Israelites took captive from their kinsmen two hundred thousand women, sons and daughters. They also took immense quantities of booty from them and brought it all back to Samaria.

The Prophecy of Oded. ⁹ In Samaria there was a prophet of the Lord by the name of Oded. He went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria, and he said: “It was because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah that he delivered them into your hands. However, you have slaughtered them with an intense rage that has reached up to heaven.

¹⁰ “And now you have decided to force the people of Judah and Jerusalem to be your slaves. However, have you yourselves not been guilty of sins against the Lord, your God? ¹¹ Now listen to me! Release the captives you have taken from your kinsmen, for the fierce anger of the Lord has been aroused against you.”

¹² On hearing this, some of the Ephraimite leaders—Azariah, son of Jehohanan; Berechiah, son of Meshillemoth; Jehizkiah, son of Shallum; and Amasa, son of Hadlai—confronted those who were returning from the war ¹³ and said to them: “Do not bring these captives here, for what you are proposing will only increase our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is already substantial, and fierce anger threatens the security of Israel.”

¹⁴ Therefore, in the presence of the officials and the entire assembly, the soldiers surrendered the captives and the booty. ¹⁵ Then those Ephraimite leaders proceeded to help those who had been led away captive. From the booty they clothed those who were naked. They gave them clothing and sandals and gave them food, drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they mounted on donkeys and took them to their brethren in Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they themselves returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ Other Sins of Ahaz. At that time King Ahaz sent a plea to the king of Assyria asking for help. ¹⁷ The Edomites had once again invaded and defeated Judah, and carried away captives.

¹⁸ Meanwhile, the Philistines had raided the towns in the foothills and the Negeb of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and settled there. ¹⁹ For the Lord had brought Judah low because of Ahaz, king of Israel,^[c] who had behaved without restraint in Judah and had proved to be totally unfaithful to the Lord.

²⁰ After that, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came to Ahaz, but rather than assisting him, he oppressed him instead. ²¹ Then Ahaz plundered the temple of the Lord, the palace of the king, and the house of his officials. He proceeded to give the plunder to the king of Assyria, but no help from him was forthcoming.

²² During this period of distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. ²³ He proceeded to offer sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, thinking: “Since the gods of the king of Aram have supported them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may decide to help me.” However, they only caused further disaster to him and to all of Israel. ²⁴ Then Ahaz gathered up the vessels of the house of God and broke them into pieces. After he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord he made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he built high places to offer sacrifices to other gods, thus provoking the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

²⁶ The rest of his deeds and all his activities, from first to last, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz slept with his ancestors, and he was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not laid to rest in the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah succeeded him.