2 Kings 16 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.

Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, the way his ancestor David had.

Instead, he followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even passed his son through fire — copying the disgusting practices of the nations that Yahweh had driven out ahead of the Israelites.

He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the hilltop shrines, on the hills, and under every green tree.

That's when Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They put Ahaz under siege but couldn't overpower him.

At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and drove the Judeans out of Elath. Then the Edomites moved into Elath and have lived there ever since.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come and rescue me from the king of Aram and the king of Israel — they're attacking me."

Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.

The king of Assyria agreed. He marched against Damascus and captured it, deported its people to Kir, and put Rezin to death.

King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. When he saw the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent the priest Uriah a detailed sketch of the altar along with plans for how it was built.

So the priest Uriah built an altar following every detail that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Uriah finished it before King Ahaz got back.

When the king returned from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and offered sacrifices on it.

He burned his entirely-consumed offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.

As for the bronze altar that stood before Yahweh, he moved it from the front of the house — from between his new altar and the house of Yahweh — and put it on the north side of his new altar.

Then King Ahaz gave orders to the priest Uriah: "On the large new altar, burn the morning entirely-consumed offering, the evening grain offering, the king's entirely-consumed offering and his grain offering, and the entirely-consumed offerings of all the people of the land along with their grain offerings and drink offerings. Splash all the blood of the entirely-consumed offerings and sacrifices on it. But the bronze altar — I'll decide what to do with that."

The priest Uriah did everything exactly as King Ahaz commanded.

King Ahaz cut off the panels from the movable stands and removed the basins from on top of them. He took the Sea down from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone pavement.

He also removed the covered walkway for the Sabbath that had been built at the house, and the king's outer entrance to the house of Yahweh — all because of the king of Assyria.

The rest of what Ahaz did — isn't it all written down in the official records of the kings of Judah?

Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah became king after him.