2 Kings 16:15

15 Then King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest: "From now on offer all the sacrifices on the new altar, the great altar: morning Whole-Burnt-Offerings, evening Grain-Offerings, the king's Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Grain-Offerings, the people's Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Grain-Offerings, and also their Drink-Offerings. Splash all the blood from the burnt offerings and sacrifices against this altar. The old bronze Altar will be for my personal use.

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 Whole-Burnt-Offerings with billows of smoke, Grain-Offerings, libations of Drink-Offerings, the sprinkling of blood from the Peace-Offerings - the works.
14 But the old bronze Altar that signaled the presence of God he displaced from its central place and pushed it off to the side of his new altar.
15 Then King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest: "From now on offer all the sacrifices on the new altar, the great altar: morning Whole-Burnt-Offerings, evening Grain-Offerings, the king's Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Grain-Offerings, the people's Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Grain-Offerings, and also their Drink-Offerings. Splash all the blood from the burnt offerings and sacrifices against this altar. The old bronze Altar will be for my personal use.
16 The priest Uriah followed King Ahaz's orders to the letter.
17 Then King Ahaz proceeded to plunder The Temple furniture of all its bronze. He stripped the bronze from The Temple furnishings, even salvaged the four bronze oxen that supported the huge basin, The Sea, and set The Sea unceremoniously on the stone pavement.
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.