Ahaz King of Judah
1Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. He didn’t do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He didn’t do what King David had done. 2He followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He also made statues of gods that were named Baal. 3He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He sacrificed his children in the fire to other gods. He followed the practices of the nations. The Lord hates these practices. The Lord had driven out those nations to make room for the people of Israel. 4Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. He also did it on the tops of hills and under every green tree.
5So the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram. The men of Aram won the battle over him. They took many of his people as prisoners. They brought them to Damascus.
God also handed Ahaz over to Pekah. Pekah was king of Israel. His army wounded or killed many of the troops of Ahaz. 6In one day Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed 120,000 soldiers in Judah. That’s because Judah had deserted the Lord, the God of their people. 7Zikri was a fighting man from Ephraim. He killed Maaseiah, Azrikam and Elkanah. Maaseiah was the king’s son. Azrikam was the officer who was in charge of the palace. And Elkanah was next in command after the king. 8The men of Israel captured 200,000 wives, sons and daughters from their relatives in Judah. They also took a large amount of goods. They carried all of it back to Samaria.
9But a prophet of the Lord was there. His name was Oded. When the army returned to Samaria, he went out to meet them. He said to them, “The Lord is the God of your people. He was very angry with Judah. So he handed them over to you. But you have killed them. Your anger reached all the way to heaven. 10Now you are planning to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? 11Listen to me! You have taken your relatives from Judah as prisoners. The Lord is very angry with you. So send your relatives back.”
12Then some of the leaders in Ephraim stood up to those who were returning from the war. The leaders were Azariah, Berekiah, Jehizkiah and Amasa. Azariah was the son of Jehohanan. Berekiah was the son of Meshillemoth. Jehizkiah was the son of Shallum. And Amasa was the son of Hadlai. 13“Don’t bring those prisoners here,” they said. “If you do, we’ll be guilty in the sight of the Lord. Do you really want to add to our sin and guilt? We’re already very guilty. The Lord is very angry with Israel.”
14So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and the goods they had taken. They did it in front of the officials and the whole community. 15Azariah, Berekiah, Jehizkiah and Amasa received the prisoners. From the goods that had been taken, they gave clothes to everyone who was naked. They gave them clothes, sandals, food, drink and healing lotion. They put all the weak people on donkeys. They took them back to their relatives at Jericho. Then they returned to Samaria. Jericho was also known as the City of Palm Trees.
16At that time King Ahaz sent men to the king of Assyria to get help. 17The men of Edom had come and attacked Judah again. They had carried away prisoners. 18At the same time the Philistines had attacked towns in the western hills and in the Negev Desert of Judah. They had captured Beth Shemesh, Aijalon and Gederoth. They had also captured Soko, Timnah and Gimzo and the villages around them. They had settled down in all of them. 19The Lord had made Judah less powerful because of Ahaz, their king. Ahaz had stirred up the people of Judah to do evil things. He hadn’t been faithful to the Lord at all. 20Tiglath-Pileser came to Ahaz. But he gave Ahaz trouble instead of help. Tiglath-Pileser was king of Assyria. 21Ahaz took some things from the Lord’s temple. He also took some from the royal palace and from the officials. He gave all of them to the king of Assyria. But that didn’t help Ahaz.
22When King Ahaz was in trouble, he became even more unfaithful to the Lord. 23Ahaz offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. They had won the battle over him. Ahaz thought, “The gods of the kings of Aram have helped them. So I’ll sacrifice to those gods. Then they’ll help me.” But those gods only caused his ruin. In fact, those gods caused the ruin of the whole nation of Israel.
24Ahaz gathered together everything that belonged to God’s temple. He cut all of it in pieces. Ahaz shut the doors of the Lord’s temple. He set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. 25In every town in Judah he built high places. Sacrifices were burned there to other gods. That made the Lord, the God of his people, very angry.
26The other events of the rule of Ahaz and all his evil practices from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27Ahaz joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the city of Jerusalem. But he wasn’t placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became the next king after him.
Ahas Di Yudahene
1Ahas dii ade no, na wadi mfirihyia aduonu. Odii hene wɔ Yerusalem mfirihyia dunsia. Wanyɛ nea ɛsɔ Awurade ani sɛnea ne tete agya Dawid yɛe no. 2Mmom, ɔyɛɛ nea Israel ahemfo yɛe no bi, yɛɛ ahoni a wɔde som Baal. 3Ɔbɔɔ afɔre wɔ Hinom28.3 Ben-Hinom bon. Hwɛ 33.6. Yosia braa abosonsom a na ɛrekɔ so wɔ hɔ no (2 Ah 23.10). Ɔde ne babarima bɔɔ afɔre (3 Mose 20.1-5; Yer 7.31-32; 2 Ah 16.3). babarima bon mu, na mpo ɔde ne mmabarima bɔɔ afɔre wɔ ogya mu. Osuaa akyiwade a abosonsom aman no yɛe a nti Awurade pam wɔn fii asase no so ansa na Israelfo rekodu hɔ no. 4Ɔbɔɔ afɔre, hyew nnuhuam wɔ abosomfi, mmepɔw so ne dua frɔmfrɔm biara ase.
5Ɛno nti na Awurade, ne Nyankopɔn, maa Aramhene kwan na odii Ahas so nkonim, twaa ne nkurɔfo bebree asu kɔɔ Damasko. Israel asraafo bebree nso dii Ahas so nkonim, kunkum nʼakofo no bebree nso. 6Israelhene Peka, a ɔyɛ Remalia babarima de da koro kunkum Yuda asraafo no nnipa mpem ɔha aduonu, efisɛ na wɔapo Awurade, wɔn agyanom Nyankopɔn. 7Afei, Sikri, ɔkofo kɛse a ofi Efraim, kunkum Maaseia a ɔyɛ ɔhene babarima Asrikam, a ɔyɛ ahemfi so sahene ne Elkana, a ɔyɛ ɔhene sahene abediakyiri no. 8Israelfo asraafo kyekyeree mmea ne Yuda mmofra mpem ahannu, faa asade bebree, de kɔɔ Samaria.
9Na Awurade odiyifo a ne din de Oded wɔ Samaria hɔ bere a Israel asraafo san baa fie no. Okohyiaa wɔn ka kyerɛɛ wɔn se, “Awurade, mo agyanom Nyankopɔn, bo fuw Yuda, na ɔmaa mudii wɔn so nkonim. Nanso moayɛ ama aboro so dodo sɛ mode atirimɔden akunkum wɔn, ma ahaw ɔsoro nyinaa. 10Na mprempren, moredwene sɛ mobɛfa saa nnipa yi a wofi Yuda ne Yerusalem nkoa. Na mo ankasa mo bɔne a moyɛ tiaa Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, ho asɛm te dɛn? 11Muntie me, na munnyaa saa nneduafo a wɔwɔ mo nsam no, efisɛ wɔyɛ mo ankasa mo abusuafo. Monhwɛ no yiye, efisɛ mprempren, wɔadan Awurade abufuwhyew no aba mo so!”
12Na Israel ntuanofo bi a wɔyɛ Yehohanan babarima Asaria, Mesilemot babarima Berekia, Salum babarima Yehiskia ne Hadlai babarima Amasa penee eyi so, na wɔne mmarima a wofi akono reba no kae se, 13“Mommfa nneduafo no mma ha! Yɛrentumi mfa nka yɛn bɔne ne yɛn afɔdi ho. Yɛn afɔdi so dedaw, na wɔadan Awurade abufuwhyew no aba Israel so dedaw.”
14Enti akofo no gyaee nneduafo no de asade no mae wɔ ɔmanfo no ne ntuanofo no anim. 15Afei, nnipa baanan a wɔbobɔɔ wɔn din no baa anim, bɛkyekyɛɛ ntade a ɛwɔ asade no mu no maa nneduafo a wɔda adagyaw no. Wɔmaa wɔn ntade ne mpaboa sɛ wɔnhyɛ ne nnuan pii ne nsu, de ngo guguu wɔn apirakuru mu. Wɔde wɔn a wɔayɛ mmerɛw no tenatenaa mfurum so, de nneduafo no nyinaa san baa wɔn asase Yeriko, mmɛkurow, no so. Afei, wɔsan kɔɔ Samaria.
16Saa bere no mu, Yudahene Ahas kɔsrɛɛ Asiriahene sɛ ɔmmɛboa no na ɔnkɔko ntia nʼatamfo. 17Bio, na Edom asraafo adi Yuda so nkonim, akyekyere ebinom nnommum. 18Na Filistifo atow ahyɛ nkurow a ɛwɔ Yuda mmepɔw no ase ne Negeb so. Na wɔako afa Bet-Semes, Ayalon, Gederot ne Soko ne wɔn nkurow ne Timna ne Gimso ne wɔn nkurow no. Na Filistifo no tenatenaa saa nkurow yi so.28.18 Edomfo…tua Yuda. …Filistifo ɔfow. Ananafo nkabom (nky. 16) ma wotumi dii Ahas so nkonim. 19Na Awurade rebrɛ Yuda ase, esiane Yudahene Ahas nti, efisɛ na ɔboa ne nkurɔfo ma wɔyɛ bɔne, na na onni Awurade nokware korakora nso. 20Enti bere a Asiriahene Tilgat-Pilneser bedui no a anka ɛsɛ sɛ ɔboa ɔhene Ahas no, ɔhaw no mmom. 21Ahas tasee nneɛma a ɛsom bo fii Awurade asɔredan no mu, ahemfi hɔ ne ne mpanyimfo afi mu, de kɔmaa Asiriahene sɛ ne tow. Nanso eyi mpo, ammoa no.
22Na sɛ ɔhaw bi ba ɔhene Ahas so mpo a, ɔkɔ so yɛ asoɔden wɔ Awurade so. 23Ɔbɔɔ afɔre maa Damasko anyame a wodii ne so nkonim no, na ɔkae se, “Saa anyame yi na wɔboaa Aram ahemfo nti, sɛ mebɔ afɔre ma wɔn a, wɔbɛboa me nso.” Nanso wɔmaa no sɛee, maa Israel nyinaa sɛee.
24Ɔhene no tasee nneɛma ahorow a ɛwɔ Onyankopɔn Asɔredan no mu nyinaa bubuu mu asinasin. Ɔtotoo Awurade asɔredan no apon mu, sɛnea obiara ntumi nkɔsom wɔ hɔ. Osisii afɔremuka maa abosonsom anyame wɔ Yerusalem twɔtwɔw so baabiara. 25Ɔyɛɛ abosonsom nsɔree so wɔ Yuda nkurow nyinaa so a wɔbɔ afɔre wɔ hɔ ma anyame foforo no. Ɔnam saa ɔkwan yi so, hyɛɛ Awurade, nʼagyanom Nyankopɔn, abufuw.
26Ahas ahenni ho nsɛm nkae no fi mfiase kosi awiei no, wɔakyerɛw agu Yuda ahemfo ne Israel ahemfo nhoma mu. 27Ɔhene Ahas wui no, wosiee no Yerusalem, nanso wɔansie no wɔ adehye amusiei. Ne babarima Hesekia na odii nʼade sɛ ɔhene.
