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the seventeen year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, unlike what his father David had done. 3 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire. He followed after the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the people of Israel. 4 He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war. They besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him. 6 At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and he drove out the men of Judah from there. Then Edomites moved to Elath, where they have lived to this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria to say:
“I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”
8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the House of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a gift. 9 The king of Assyria heeded the request, and he marched up to Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir and put Rezin to death.
10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. When King Ahaz saw the altar in Damascus, he sent a sketch of the altar and complete plans for its construction to Uriah the priest. 11 So Uriah the priest built the altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore the construction of the altar by Uriah the priest was completed before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 When the king came from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached the altar and presented offerings on it. 13 He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar. 14 He brought the bronze altar that was before the Lord from the front of the house between his altar and the House of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the new altar.
15 Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest: “On the great altar you are to present the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, the burnt offerings of all the people of the land, and their grain offerings, and their drink offerings. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and all the blood of the sacrifices. But the bronze altar will be set apart for me to seek guidance.” 16 So Uriah the priest did all that King Ahaz commanded.
17 Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water stands, and removed the bronze basins from off them. He also removed the Sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. 18 To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed the covered entrance for the Sabbath at the House of the Lord, and the outer entrance for the king.
19 As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and all that he did, are they not written about in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 20 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David, and his son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.