2 Kings 16 – NIRV & NIVUK

New International Reader’s Version

2 Kings 16:1-20

Ahaz King of Judah

1Ahaz began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the 17th year of the rule of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. Ahaz was the son of Jotham. 2Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. Ahaz didn’t do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He didn’t do what King David had done. 3He followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire to another god. He followed the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. He had driven out those nations to make room for the Israelites. 4Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. He also did it on the tops of hills and under every green tree.

5Rezin and Pekah marched up to Jerusalem and surrounded it. Rezin was king of Aram. Pekah, the son of Remaliah, was king of Israel. They attacked Ahaz. But they couldn’t overpower him. 6At that time Rezin, the king of Aram, won back Elath for Aram. He drove out the people of Judah. Then the people of Edom moved into Elath. And they still live there to this day.

7Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser. He was king of Assyria. The message of Ahaz said, “I am your servant. You are my master. Come up and save me from the power of the kings of Aram and Israel. They are attacking me.” 8Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord’s temple. He also took the silver and gold that were among the treasures in the royal palace. He sent all of it as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9So the king of Assyria did what Ahaz asked him to do. He attacked the city of Damascus and captured it. He sent its people away to Kir. And he put Rezin to death.

10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus. He went there to see Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria. Ahaz saw an altar in Damascus. He sent a drawing of it to Uriah the priest. Ahaz also sent him plans for building it. 11So Uriah the priest built an altar. He followed all the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. He finished it before Ahaz returned. 12The king came back from Damascus. When he saw the altar, he approached it. Then he offered sacrifices on it. 13He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering. He poured out his drink offering. And he splashed the blood from his friendship offerings against the altar. 14The bronze altar for burnt offerings stood in front of the Lord. It was between the new altar and the Lord’s temple. Ahaz took the bronze altar away from the front of the temple. He put it on the north side of the new altar.

15Then King Ahaz gave orders to Uriah the priest. He said, “Offer sacrifices on the large new altar. Offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering. Offer my burnt offering and my grain offering. Offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land. Offer their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to look for advice and direction.” 16Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

17Ahaz cut off the sides of the bronze stands. He removed the bowls from the stands. He removed the huge bowl from the bronze bulls it stood on. He placed the bowl on a stone base. 18He took away the covered area that had been used on the Sabbath day. It had been built at the Lord’s temple. He removed the royal entrance that was outside the temple. Ahaz did all these things to honor the king of Assyria.

19The other events of the rule of Ahaz are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. 20Ahaz joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the family tomb in the City of David. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became the next king after him.

New International Version – UK

2 Kings 16:1-20

Ahaz king of Judah

1In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 2Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 4He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

5Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him. 6At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.

7Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, ‘I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.’ 8And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.

10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. 11So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. 12When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings16:12 Or and went up on it. 13He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings against the altar. 14The bronze altar that stood before the Lord he brought from the front of the temple – from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord – and put it on the north side of the new altar.

15King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: ‘On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.’ 16And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

17King Ahaz cut off the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base. 18He took away the Sabbath canopy16:18 Or the dais of his throne (see Septuagint) that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entrance outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria.

19As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.