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2 KINGS 17
page 343
the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire.* In this way, he
followed the detestable practices of the pagan
nations the Lord had driven from the land
ahead of the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices
and burned incense at the pagan shrines and
on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah
of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They
besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At
that time the king of Edom* recovered the town
of Elath for Edom.* He drove out the people of
Judah and sent Edomites* to live there, as they
do to this day.
7 King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglathpileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your
servant and your vassal.* Come up and rescue
me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from
the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury
and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king.
9 So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean
capital of Damascus and led its population
away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also
killed King Rezin.
10 King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet
with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he
was there, he took special note of the altar.
Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the
priest, along with its design in full detail. 11 Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built
an altar just like it, and it was ready before the
king returned from Damascus. 12 When the king
returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. 13 He presented a burnt offering and
a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering,
and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings
on the altar.
14 Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze
altar from its place in front of the Lord’s Temple,
between the entrance and the new altar, and
placed it on the north side of the new altar.
15 He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar*
for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the
evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering
and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all
the people, as well as their grain offerings and
liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the
burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar.
The bronze altar will be for my personal use
only.” 16 Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz
commanded him.
17 Then the king removed the side panels and
basins from the portable water carts. He also
16:3 Or even making his son pass through the fire. 16:6a As in
Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Rezin king of Aram. 16:6b As in
Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Aram. 16:6c As in Greek version,
Latin Vulgate, and an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text;
the other alternate reads Arameans. 16:7 Hebrew your son.
16:15 Hebrew the great altar. 16:18 The meaning of the
Hebrew is uncertain. 17:4 Or by asking the king of Egypt at
Sais. 17:12 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably
alludes to dung.
removed the great bronze basin called the Sea
from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed
it on the stone pavement. 18 In deference to the
king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy
that had been constructed inside the palace for
use on the Sabbath day,* as well as the king’s
outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord.
19 The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and
everything he did are recorded in The Book of
the History of the Kings of Judah. 20 When Ahaz
died, he was buried with his ancestors in the
City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became
the next king.
Hoshea Rules in Israel
Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over
Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s
reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine
years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,
but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel
who ruled before him.
3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King
Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy
tribute to Assyria. 4 But Hoshea stopped paying
the annual tribute and conspired against the
king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt* to
help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When
the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he
seized Hoshea and put him in prison.
17
Samaria Falls to Assyria
5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire
land, and for three years he besieged the city of
Samaria. 6 Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in
colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor
River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They
sinned against the Lord their God, who had
brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king
of Egypt. 8 They had followed the practices of
the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the
land ahead of them, as well as the practices the
kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The people of
Israel had also secretly done many things that
were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They
built pagan shrines for themselves in all their
towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. 10 They set up sacred pillars and
Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under
every green tree. 11 They offered sacrifices on
all the hilltops, just like the nations the Lord
had driven from the land ahead of them. So
the people of Israel had done many evil things,
arousing the Lord’s anger. 12 Yes, they worshiped idols,* despite the Lord’s specific and
repeated warnings.
13 Again and again the Lord had sent his