1Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. But he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD, as David his father had done.
2Instead he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and he also made cast images for the Baals.
3He burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and he burned his children in the fire. He copied the disgusting practices of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the children of Israel.
4He also sacrificed and burned incense at the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5So the LORD his God handed him over to the king of Syria. They struck him down and took away a great crowd of his people as prisoners, and brought them to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him down with great slaughter.
6For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand men in Judah in one day, all of them brave men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
7And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam who was in charge of the palace, and Elkanah who was second to the king.
8The children of Israel took two hundred thousand of their own relatives as prisoners: women, sons and daughters. They also took much plunder from them, and brought the plunder to Samaria.
9But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded. He went out to meet the army as it came to Samaria, and said to them, "Look, the LORD God of your fathers was angry with Judah, so he handed them over to you. But you have killed them in a rage that reaches up to heaven."
10"And now you plan to hold down the people of Judah and Jerusalem as your slaves, men and women alike. But are there not sins of your own against the LORD your God, even among you?"
11"So listen to me now, and send back the prisoners you have taken from your own relatives, for the fierce anger of the LORD is upon you."
12Then some of the leaders of the children of Ephraim - Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai - stood up against those who were coming home from the war.
13They said to them, "You shall not bring the prisoners in here. We have already offended against the LORD, and you mean to add more to our sins and to our guilt. Our guilt is great already, and there is fierce anger against Israel."
14So the armed men left the prisoners and the plunder in front of the leaders and all the assembly.
15Then the men who had been named stood up and took the prisoners. With the plunder they clothed all among them who were naked. They dressed them, gave them sandals, gave them food and drink, and rubbed them with oil. They carried all the weak ones on donkeys and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their own people. Then they returned to Samaria.
16At that time king Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help.
17For the Edomites had come again and struck Judah, and carried people away as prisoners.
18The Philistines had also raided the cities of the lowland and of the south of Judah. They had taken Bethshemesh, Ajalon, Gederoth, Shocho with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they lived there.
19For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel. He had made Judah go without restraint, and had sinned terribly against the LORD.
20Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came to him, but he troubled him instead of making him strong.
21For Ahaz took a share of the treasure from the house of the LORD, from the king's house, and from the leaders, and gave it to the king of Assyria. But it did not help him.
22And in the time of his trouble he sinned even more against the LORD. This was king Ahaz.
23For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which had struck him. He said, "Since the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them, so that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.
24Ahaz gathered up the vessels of the house of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
25In every single city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he provoked the LORD God of his fathers to anger.
26The rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.