The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New Living Translation NLT
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.
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Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel.
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.
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Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD his God, as his ancestor David 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.
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Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
4 He also sacrificed and offered on the high places, on the hills and under any green tree.
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He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every 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.
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Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him.
6 It was at that time that Retzin king of Aram recovered Eilat for Aram and drove the Judeans from Eilat; whereupon people from Edom came to Eilat to live, as they do to this day.
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At that time the king of Edom recovered the town of Elath for Edom. He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites to live there, as they do to this day.
7 Then Achaz sent messengers to Tiglat-Pil'eser king of Ashur with this message: "I am your servant and your son. Come up, and save me from the king of Aram and the king of Isra'el, who are attacking me."
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King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.”
8 Achaz took the silver and gold that was in the house of ADONAI and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a present to the king of Ashur.
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Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the LORD and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king.
9 The king of Ashur heeded him- the king of Ashur attacked Dammesek and captured it; then he carried its people captive to Kir and killed Retzin.
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So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.
10 When King Achaz went to Dammesek to meet Tiglat-Pil'eser king of Ashur and saw the altar that was in Dammesek, he sent a drawing and model of the altar to Uriyah the cohen, with details of its construction and decoration.
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King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail.
11 Then Uriyah the cohen built an altar exactly according to the design King Achaz had sent from Dammesek; Uriyah the cohen had it ready by the time King Achaz returned from Dammesek.
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Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus.
12 When the king arrived from Dammesek he saw the altar, and the king approached the altar and offered on it.
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When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it.
13 He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering and splashed the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.
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He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar.
14 The bronze altar, which was before ADONAI, he brought from in front of the house, from between his own altar and the house of ADONAI, and put it on the north side of his own altar.
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Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the LORD ’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar.
15 Then King Achaz instructed Uriyah the cohen as follows: "Henceforth, it is on the large altar that you are to offer the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, together with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering and their drink offerings; and you are to splash all the blood of the burnt offering against it and all the blood of the sacrifice. As for the bronze altar, I will take care of that."
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He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.”
16 Uriyah the cohen acted in accordance with everything King Achaz ordered.
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Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him.
17 King Achaz removed the panels of the trolleys and took the basins off them; he took the Sea off the bronze oxen supporting it and set it on the stone pavement;
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Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement.
18 and, because of the king of Ashur, he removed from the house of ADONAI the colonnade used on Shabbat that had been built for it and the king's entranceway outside it.
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In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day, as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the LORD .
19 Other activities of Achaz and all his accomplishments are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y'hudah.
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The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in
20 Achaz slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then Hizkiyahu his son took his place as king.
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When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.