28:22 During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. 28:23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him. 8 He reasoned, 9 “Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they caused him and all Israel to stumble. 28:24 Ahaz gathered the items in God’s temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem. 28:25 In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered the Lord God of his ancestors.
28:26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 10 28:27 Ahaz passed away 11 and was buried in the City of David; 12 they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.
1 tn Heb “Shephelah.”
2 tn Or “subdued.”
3 sn That is, “of Judah.” Frequently in 2 Chronicles “Israel” is substituted for “Judah.”
4 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the degree of Ahaz’s unfaithfulness.
5 tn Heb “Tilgath-pilneser,” a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.
6 tn Heb “and he caused him distress and did not strengthen him.”
7 tn Heb “divided up,” but some read חִלֵּץ (khillets, “despoiled”).
8 tn Heb “the gods of Damascus, the ones who had defeated him.” The words “he thought” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The perspective is that of Ahaz, not the narrator! Another option is that “the kings” has been accidentally omitted after “gods of.” See v. 23b.
9 tn Heb “said.”
10 tn Heb “As for the rest of his events, and all his ways, the former and the latter, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
11 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
12 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.