2 Kings 16:2

2 Achaz was twenty years old when he began to rule, and he reigned sixteen years in Yerushalayim. But he did not do what was right from the perspective of ADONAI his God, as David his ancestor had done.

2 Kings 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 16:2

Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem
The same number of years his father did:

and did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord God, like
David his father;
his more remote progenitor, nor even like his more immediate father, from whom he received such good instructions, and of whom he had so good an example; but grace is neither propagated by blood, nor obtained through the force of education.

2 Kings 16:2 In-Context

1 It was in the seventeenth year of Pekach the son of Remalyah that Achaz the son of Yotam king of Y'hudah began his reign.
2 Achaz was twenty years old when he began to rule, and he reigned sixteen years in Yerushalayim. But he did not do what was right from the perspective of ADONAI his God, as David his ancestor had done.
3 Rather, he lived in the manner of the kings of Isra'el; he even made his son pass through fire [as a sacrifice], in keeping with the abominable practices of the pagans, whom ADONAI had thrown out ahead of the people of Isra'el.
4 He also sacrificed and offered on the high places, on the hills and under any green tree.
5 Then Retzin king of Aram and Pekach son of Remalyah, king of Isra'el, came up to fight against Yerushalayim. They put Achaz under siege, but they could not overcome him.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.