1Ahaz 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 eyes of Yahweh, like his father David, 2but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made molten images for the Baals; 3and he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the people of Israel. 4And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5Therefore Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with great slaughter. 6For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew a hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 7And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.
8The men of Israel took captive two hundred thousand of their kinsfolk, women, sons, and daughters; they also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.
16At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help. 17For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah, and carried away captives. 18And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they settled there. 19For Yahweh brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had dealt wantonly in Judah and had been faithless to Yahweh. 20So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him, and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21For Ahaz took from the house of Yahweh and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria; but it did not help him.
22In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to Yahweh - this same King Ahaz. 23For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. 24And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of Yahweh; and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, provoking to anger Yahweh, the God of his fathers. 26Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
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