2 Kings 16:15

15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening oblation, and the king's burnt-offering, and his oblation, and the burnt-offering of all the people of the land, and their oblation, and their drink-offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt-offerings, and all the blood of the sacrifices; and the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire [by].

2 Kings 16:15 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 16:15

And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying
Who was not to be commanded by the king in matters of worship, but to attend to the laws and institutions of God:

saying, upon the great altar;
meaning the new one, which either was of a larger size than the altar of God, or was greater in the esteem of Ahaz:

burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering;
the daily sacrifice, morning and evening:

and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the
burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their
meat offering, and their drink offerings;
such as were offered up at any time on the account of the rulers of the land in particular, or of the whole congregation of Israel, see ( Leviticus 4:1-35 )

and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the
blood of the sacrifice;
as it used to be sprinkled upon the altar of the Lord:

and the brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by;
to search, inquire, and consider what was to be done with it; for altars were never inquired by as oracles; the meaning is, that it was never to be made use of but by him, and when he pleased.

2 Kings 16:15 In-Context

13 And he burned his burnt-offering and his oblation, and poured out his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace-offering upon the altar.
14 And the brazen altar which was before Jehovah, he brought forward from the forefront of the house, from between [his] altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it by the side of [his] altar on the north.
15 And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening oblation, and the king's burnt-offering, and his oblation, and the burnt-offering of all the people of the land, and their oblation, and their drink-offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt-offerings, and all the blood of the sacrifices; and the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire [by].
16 And Urijah the priest did according to all that king Ahaz had commanded.
17 And king Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the lavers from off them; and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a stone pavement.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Strictly, 'burn as incense:' see Lev. 1.9; Ex. 29.13; 2Chron 28.3; 29.11.
  • [b]. Others, 'to consider.'
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.