II Kings 16

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

2. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.

3. But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. Yea, and he made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

4. And he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

5. Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem for war. And they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

6. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath. And the Syrians came to Elath and lived there until this day.

7. And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your 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 who rise up against me.”

8. And Ahaz took the silver and gold which was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria.

9. And the king of Assyria hearkened to him, for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it. And he carried the people of it away captive to Kir and killed Rezin.

10. And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria at Damascus. And he saw an altar at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the form and the pattern of the altar according to all its workmanship.

11. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest did until King Ahaz came in from Damascus.

12. And the king came in from Damascus, and the king saw the altar. And the king approached to the altar and offered on it.

13. And he offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.

14. And he also brought the bronze altar which was before the LORD from the forefront of the house—from between the new altar and the house of the LORD—and put it on the north side of the new altar.

15. And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great new altar burn the morning offering and the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice and his grain offering with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offerings, and their drink offerings. And sprinkle all the blood of the burnt offerings upon it, and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.

16. Then Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

17. And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the laver from them. And he took down the sea from off the bronze oxen under it and put it upon a pavement of stones.

18. And the covered way for the Sabbath which they had built in the house, and the king’s entry outside, he removed from the house of the LORD because of the king of Assyria.

19. And 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 his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.