CHAPTER 28

¹Twenty years old was Ahaz when he became king, and sixteen years he was king in Jerusalem, but he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD like David his father. ²And he went in the ways of the kings of Israel, and he even made molten images for the Baalim. ³And he it was who burned incense in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in fire like the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had dispossessed before Israel. ⁴And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every lush tree. ⁵And the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram, and they struck against him and took many captives from him and brought them to Damascus. And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he struck a great blow against him. ⁶And Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred twenty thousand in Judah on a single day, all of them valiant men, as a result of their forsaking the LORD God of their fathers. ⁷And Zichri the Ephraimite warrior killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam, prince of the house, and Elkanah, viceroy to the king. ⁸And the Israelites took captive from their brothers two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters, and they also plundered abundant booty from them and brought the booty to Samaria. ⁹And a prophet of the LORD was there, Oded was his name, and he went out before the army coming to Samaria and said to them, “Look, in the wrath of the LORD God of your fathers against Judah He has given them into your hand, and you killed from among them in a rage that has reached the heavens. ¹⁰And now, you intend to reduce the Judahites to male slaves and slavegirls for yourselves. Why, there are only guilty acts between you and the LORD your God. ¹¹And now, hear me and give back the captives whom you took from your brothers, for the LORD’s smoldering wrath is against you.” ¹²And men of the chiefs of Ephraim arose—Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—against those who had come back from the army. ¹³And they said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for you intend to add to your guilty acts against the LORD our offenses and our guilt, for great is our guilt and the smoldering wrath against Israel.” ¹⁴And the vanguard left the captives and the plunder before the commanders and all the assembly. ¹⁵And the men who had been singled out by name arose and took the captives in hand and clothed their nakedness from the booty, clothed them and gave them sandals and fed them and gave them drink and rubbed them with oil and led on donkeys all who had stumbled and brought them to Jericho, city of the palms, to their brothers, and came back to Samaria.

¹⁶At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria to aid him. ¹⁷Again the Edomites had come and struck against Judah and taken captives. ¹⁸And Philistines raided the towns of the lowland and the Negeb belonging to Judah and captured Beth-Shemesh and Aijalon and Gederoth and Socho and its hamlets and Timnah and its hamlets and Gimzo and its hamlets, and they settled there. ¹⁹For the LORD had brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Judah, for he had loosed restraints in Judah and had grievously betrayed the LORD. ²⁰And Tilgath-Pilneser king of Assyria came against him and brought him into straits, and Tilgath-Pilneser did not support him. ²¹For Ahaz had plundered the house of the LORD and the house of the king and the commanders and had given it to the king of Assyria, but with no aid for him. ²²And in the very moment of his straits, he still betrayed the LORD—this was King Ahaz. ²³And he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who were striking him down, and he thought, “The gods of the kings of Aram aid them. I will sacrifice to them and they will aid me.” But they served to make him and all Israel stumble. ²⁴And Ahaz collected the vessels of the house of God and cut to pieces the vessels of the house of God and closed the doors of the house of the LORD and made himself altars in every corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵And in every single town of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he vexed the LORD God of his fathers. ²⁶And the rest of his acts and all his ways, early and late, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷And Ahaz lay with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him to the graves of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son was king in his stead.