2 Reis 16

ARC · Chapter 16/25

1No anno dezesete de Peka, filho de Remalias, começou a reinar Achaz, filho de Jothão, rei de Judah.

2Tinha Achaz vinte annos de edade quando começou a reinar, e reinou dezeseis annos em Jerusalem, e não fez o que era recto aos olhos do Senhor seu Deus, como David, seu pae.

3Porque andou no caminho dos reis de Israel: e até a seu filho fez passar pelo fogo, segundo as abominações dos gentios que o Senhor lançára fóra de diante dos filhos de Israel.

4Tambem sacrificou, e queimou incenso nos altos e nos outeiros, como tambem debaixo de todo o arvoredo.

5Então subiu Resin, rei da Syria, com Peka, filho de Remalias, rei de Israel, a Jerusalem, á peleja; e cercaram a Achaz, porém não o poderam vencer.

6N'aquelle mesmo tempo Resin, rei da Syria, restituiu Elath á Syria, e lançou fóra de Elath os judeus: e os syros vieram a Elath, e habitaram ali até ao dia d'hoje.

7E Achaz enviou mensageiros a Tiglath-pileser, rei da Assyria, dizendo: Eu sou teu servo e teu filho; sobe, e livra-me das mãos do rei da Syria, e das mãos do rei de Israel, que se levantam contra mim.

8E tomou Achaz a prata e o oiro que se achou na casa do Senhor e nos thesouros da casa do rei, e mandou um presente ao rei da Assyria.

9E o rei da Assyria lhe deu ouvidos; pois o rei da Assyria subiu contra Damasco, e tomou-a, e levou-os presos a Kir, e matou a Resin.

10Então o rei Achaz foi a Damasco, a encontrar-se com Tiglath-pileser, rei da Assyria, e, vendo um altar que estava em Damasco, o rei Achaz enviou ao sacerdote Urias a similhança do altar, e o modelo, conforme toda a sua feição.

11E Urias, o sacerdote, edificou um altar conforme tudo o que o rei Achaz tinha ordenado de Damasco; assim o fez o sacerdote Urias, entretanto que o rei Achaz viesse de Damasco.

12Vindo pois o rei de Damasco, o rei viu o altar; e o rei se chegou ao altar, e sacrificou n'elle.

13E queimou o seu holocausto, e a sua offerta de manjares, e derramou a sua libação: e espargiu o sangue dos seus sacrificios pacificos n'aquelle altar.

14Porém o altar de cobre, que estava perante o Senhor, tirou de diante da casa, de entre o seu altar e a casa do Senhor, e pôl-o ao lado do seu altar, da banda do norte.

15E o rei Achaz mandou a Urias o sacerdote, dizendo: No grande altar queima o holocausto de pela manhã, como tambem a offerta de manjares de noite, e o holocausto do rei, e a sua offerta de manjares, e o holocausto de todo o povo da terra, a sua offerta de manjares, e as suas offertas de bebida e todo o sangue dos holocaustos, e todo o sangue dos sacrificios espargirás n'elle; porém o altar de cobre será para mim, para inquirir d'elle.

16E fez Urias, o sacerdote, conforme tudo quanto o rei Achaz lhe ordenara.

17E o rei Achaz cortou as cintas das bases, e de cima d'ellas tomou a pia, e o mar tirou de sobre os bois de cobre, que estavam debaixo d'elle, e pôl-o sobre um soalho de pedra.

18Tambem a coberta do sabbado, que edificaram na casa, e a entrada de fóra do rei, retirou da casa do Senhor, por causa do rei da Assyria.

19Ora o mais dos successos de Achaz, e o que fez, porventura não está escripto no livro das chronicas dos reis de Judah?

20E dormiu Achaz com seus paes, e foi sepultado junto a seus paes, na cidade de David: e Ezequias, seu filho, reinou em seu logar.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Ahaz of Judah is an extremely idolatrous king, who sacrifices his own son in the fire and seeks military help from Assyria against a coalition of Israel and Syria, paying for it with treasures from the temple. He also replaces the temple's original altar with a replica of a pagan altar he saw in Damascus.

Explanation

Ahaz represents one of the lowest points of religious faithfulness in Judah before the exile, going so far as to sacrifice his own son, a practice expressly forbidden and abhorred by God (Leviticus 18:21). His decision to seek Assyrian protection, paying with sacred resources, and then to physically alter temple worship to imitate foreign pagan practices, shows how the pursuit of political security can lead to profound spiritual compromise. This pattern of dependence on Assyria also planted the seeds of future problems for Judah.

Fun facts

  • The prophet Isaiah, a direct contemporary of Ahaz, confronted this same king during the crisis with Israel and Syria (Isaiah 7), offering a famous messianic sign about a young woman who would conceive a son named Immanuel — an episode that takes place alongside this chapter.
  • The 'sundial of Ahaz,' mentioned later in Hezekiah's reign (2 Kings 20:11), is attributed to this same king, suggesting an interest in technology and foreign knowledge, possibly stemming from contact with Assyria.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Reis 16:1Ahaz, son of Jotham, begins to reign over Judah (the southern kingdom) in the seventeenth year of Pekah of Israel (the north).
  2. 2 Reis 16:2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and stayed sixteen years in Jerusalem; unlike David, he does not do what is right — one of the worst kings of Judah.
  3. 2 Reis 16:3This phrase describes a child sacrifice, probably tied to the cult of Molech, practiced by some kings of Judah in their moments of deepest religious desperation. The text cites it as the worst example of a Davidic king copying Canaanite customs.
  4. 2 Reis 16:4Ahaz goes beyond the usual: he sacrifices and burns incense at the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree — a level of idolatry greater than most kings of Judah.
  5. 2 Reis 16:5Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel (the north) attack Jerusalem together and besiege Ahaz, but cannot defeat him — this is the Syro-Ephraimite war also mentioned in Isaiah.
  6. 2 Reis 16:6In this same period, Rezin takes Elath back for Syria, driving out the Jews there, and it is occupied by another people down to the time the book was written.
  7. 2 Reis 16:7Ahaz declares himself a willing vassal of Assyria to get help against his neighbors. It is a move that solves the immediate problem but ties Judah to Assyria’s orbit for generations, with mandatory tribute.
  8. 2 Reis 16:8Ahaz empties the treasures of the temple and the palace of silver and gold to send as a gift to the king of Assyria, buying military help.
  9. 2 Reis 16:9The Assyrian king answers the request, attacks Damascus, conquers it, deports its residents, and kills Rezin — solving Ahaz’s immediate problem, but creating a dangerous dependence of Judah on Assyria.
  10. 2 Reis 16:10Impressed by an altar he saw in the Syrian capital, Ahaz orders a copy built in Jerusalem and moves the temple’s original bronze altar off to one side. It is a gesture that mixes political fascination with a foreign power with an unauthorized liturgical reform.
  11. 2 Reis 16:11The priest Urijah builds the altar exactly as Ahaz ordered from Damascus, having everything ready even before the king returns.
  12. 2 Reis 16:12On returning from Damascus, Ahaz sees the new altar and goes up himself to offer sacrifice on it, something normally reserved for the priests.
  13. 2 Reis 16:13Ahaz burns his burnt offering and grain offering, pours out his drink offering, and spatters the blood of his peace offerings on this foreign-modeled altar.
  14. 2 Reis 16:14The Lord’s original bronze altar is moved from its place of honor in front of the temple and shoved to the north side, making room for the new altar copied from Damascus.
  15. 2 Reis 16:15Ahaz instructs the priest Urijah to use the new large altar for all the regular sacrifices, keeping the old bronze altar for his own personal use only.
  16. 2 Reis 16:16Urijah obeys Ahaz’s orders exactly — a priest who bends completely to the corruption of worship imposed by the king.
  17. 2 Reis 16:17Ahaz goes on to dismantle bronze pieces from the temple — the stands, the basin, and the oxen that supported the great tank — probably to send more tribute or out of sheer disregard for the temple’s original design.
  18. 2 Reis 16:18Ahaz removes other structures from the temple to please the king of Assyria, showing just how far political submission had already compromised worship in Jerusalem.
  19. 2 Reis 16:19The closing formula for Ahaz points to the chronicles of the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom).
  20. 2 Reis 16:20Ahaz dies and is buried with his ancestors in the City of David; his son Hezekiah takes the throne — a turning point, since Hezekiah will be one of the best kings of Judah.

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