(1) In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.

(2) Twenty years old {was} Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not {that which was} right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father.

(3) But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.

(4) And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

(1) Ahaz {was} twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not {that which was} right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father:

(2) For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.

(3) Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

(4) He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

1. Now Jotham died when he had lived forty-one years, and of them reigned sixteen, and was buried in the sepulchres of the kings; and the kingdom came to his son Ahaz, who proved most impious towards God, and a transgressor of the laws of the country.

He imitated the kings of Israel, and reared altars in Jerusalem, and offered sacrifices upon them to idols; to which also he offered his own son as a burnt-offering, according to the practices of the Canaanites.

His other actions were also of the same sort.

(5) Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome {him}.

(6) At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.

(5) Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought {them} to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

(6) For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, {which were} all valiant men; because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers.

(7) And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah {that was} next to the king.

 carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Now as he was going on in this mad course, Rezin, the king of Syria and Damascus, and Pekah, the king of Israel, who were now at amity one with another, made war with him; and when they had driven him into Jerusalem they besieged that city a long while, making but a small progress, on account of the strength of its walls; and when the king of Syria had taken the city Elath, upon the Red Sea, and had slain the inhabitants, he peopled it with Syrians: and when he had slain those in the (other) garrisons, and the Jews in their neighborhood, and had driven away much prey, he returned with his army back to Damascus.

Now when the king of Jerusalem knew that the Syrians were returned home, he, supposing himself a match for the king of Israel, drew out his army against him, and joining battle with him was beaten; and this happened because God was angry with him on account of his many and great enormities.

Accordingly, there were slain by the Israelites one hundred and twenty thousand of his men that day, whose general, Amaziah by name, slew Zechariah the king's son in his conflict with Ahaz, as well as the governor of the kingdom, whose name was Azricam.

He also carried Elkanah, the general of the troops of the tribe of Judah, into captivity.

They also carried the women and children of the tribe of Benjamin captives; and when they had gotten a great deal of prey, they returned to Samaria.

(10) And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: {but are there} not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?

(11) Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the Lord {is} upon you.

(12) Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,

(13) And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the Lord {already}, ye intend to add {more} to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and {there is} fierce wrath against Israel.

(14) So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.

2. Now there was one Obed, who was a prophet at that time Samaria; he met the army before the city walls, and with a loud voice told them that they had gotten the victory not by their own strength, but by reason of the anger God had against king Ahaz.

And he complained that they were not satisfied with the good success they had against him, but were so bold as to make captives out of their kinsmen the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

He also gave them counsel to let them go home without doing them any harm, for that if they did not obey God herein, they should be punished.

So the people of Israel came together to their assembly, and considered of these matters, when a man whose name was Berechiah, and who was one of chief reputation in the government, stood up, and three others with him, and said, - We will not suffer the citizens to bring these prisoners into the city, lest we be all destroyed by God: we have sins enough of our own that we have committed against him, as the prophets assure us; nor ought we therefore to introduce the practice of new crimes.

When the soldiers heard that, they permitted them to do what they thought best.

So the forenamed men took the captives and let them go, and took care of them, and gave them provisions, and sent them to their own country, without doing them any harm.

However, these four went along with them, and conducted them as far as Jericho, which is not far from Jerusalem, and returned to Samaria.

(7) So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I {am} thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. (8) And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent {it for} a present to the king of Assyria. (9) And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried {the people of} it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. (10) And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that {was} at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. (11) And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made {it} against king Ahaz came from Damascus. (12) And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. (13) And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar. (14) And he brought also the brasen altar, which {was} before the Lord, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the altar. (15) And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king'sburnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to inquire {by}. (16) Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded. (17) And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that {were} under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. (18) And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria. (19) Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, {are} they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (20) And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

(16) At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. (17) For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. (18) The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there. (19) For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord. (20) And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. (21) For Ahaz took away a portion {out} of the house of the Lord, and {out} of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave {it} unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not. (22) And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this {is that} king Ahaz. (23) For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, {therefore} will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. (24) And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. (25) And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers. (26) Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they {are} written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. (27) And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, {even} in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

3. Hereupon king Ahaz, having been so thoroughly beaten by the Israelites, sent to Tiglath-Pileser, king of the Assyrians, and sued for assistance from him in this war against the Israelites, and Syrians, and Damascens, with a promise to send him much money; he sent him also great presents at the same time. Now this king, upon the reception of those ambassadors, came to assist Ahaz, and made war upon the Syrians, and laid their country waste, and took Damascus by force, and slew Rezin their king, and transplanted the people of Damascus into the Upper Media, and brought a colony of Assyrians, and planted them in Damascus. He also afflicted the land of Israel, and took many captives out of it. While he was doing thus with the Syrians, king Ahaz took all the gold that was in the king's treasures, and the silver, and what was in the temple of God, and what precious gifts were there, and he carried them with him, and came to Damascus, and gave it to the king of Assyria, according to his agreement. So he confessed that he owed him thanks for all that he had done for him, and returned to Jerusalem. Now this king was so sottish and thoughtless of what was for his own good, that he would not leave off worshipping the Syrian gods when he was beaten by them, but he went on in worshipping them, as though they would procure him the victory; and when he was beaten again he began to honor the gods of the Assyrians; and he seemed more desirous to honor any other gods than his own paternal and true God, whose anger was the cause of his defeat: nay, he proceeded to such a degree of despite and contempt (of God's worship,) that he shut up the temple entirely, and forbade them to bring in the appointed sacrifices, and took away the gifts that had been given to it. And when he had offered these indignities to God, he died, having lived thirty-six years, and out of them reigned sixteen; and he left his son Hezekiah for his successor.