2 Chronicles 28:21

21 Desperate, Ahaz ransacked The Temple of God, the royal palace, and every other place he could think of, scraping together everything he could, and gave it to the king of Assyria - and got nothing in return, not a bit of help.

2 Chronicles 28:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 28:21

For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and
out of the house of the king, and of the princes
A part out of the treasures of the temple, and a part out of his own treasures, and another which he levied upon his nobles:

and gave it unto the king of Assyria;
sent it to him as a present, to engage him on his side, and assist him against his enemies, ( 2 Kings 16:10-16 )

but he helped him not; (See Gill on 2 Chronicles 28:20).

2 Chronicles 28:21 In-Context

19 Arrogant King Ahaz, acting as if he could do without God's help, had unleashed an epidemic of depravity. Judah, brought to its knees by God, was now reduced to begging for a handout.
20 But the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, wouldn't help - he came instead and humiliated Ahaz even more by attacking and bullying him.
21 Desperate, Ahaz ransacked The Temple of God, the royal palace, and every other place he could think of, scraping together everything he could, and gave it to the king of Assyria - and got nothing in return, not a bit of help.
22 But King Ahaz didn't learn his lesson - at the very time that everyone was turning against him, he continued to be against God!
23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. He had just been defeated by Damascus; he thought, "If I worship the gods who helped Damascus, those gods just might help me too." But things only went from bad to worse: first Ahaz in ruins and then the country.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.