King Ahaz of Judah
(2 Kings 16.1-4)1 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years.
Ahaz was nothing like his ancestor David. Ahaz disobeyed the Lord 2 and was as sinful as the kings of Israel. He made idols of the god Baal, 3 and he offered sacrifices in Hinnom Valley. Worst of all, Ahaz sacrificed his own sons, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.
Syria and Israel Attack Judah
(2 Kings 16.52 6)5-6 Ahaz and the people of Judah sinned and turned away from the Lord, the God their ancestors had worshiped. So the Lord punished them by letting their enemies defeat them.
The king of Syria attacked Judah and took many of its people to Damascus as prisoners. King Pekah of Israel later defeated Judah and killed 120,000 of its bravest soldiers in one day. 7 During that battle, an Israelite soldier named Zichri killed three men from Judah: Maaseiah the king's son; Azrikam, the official in charge of the palace; and Elkanah, the king's second in command. 8 The Israelite troops captured 200,000 women and children and took them back to their capital city of Samaria, along with a large amount of their possessions. They did these things even though the people of Judah were their own relatives.
Oded the Prophet Condemns Israel
9 Oded lived in Samaria and was one of the Lord's prophets. He met Israel's army on their way back from Judah and said to them:
The Lord God of your ancestors let you defeat Judah's army only because he was angry with them. But you should not have been so cruel! 10 If you make slaves of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, you will be as guilty as they are of sinning against the Lord.
11 Send these prisoners back home—they are your own relatives. If you don't, the Lord will punish you in his anger.
12 About the same time, four of Israel's leaders arrived. They were Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai. They agreed with Oded that the Israelite troops were wrong, 13 and they said:
If you bring these prisoners into Samaria, that will be one more thing we've done to sin against the Lord. And he is already angry enough with us.
14 So in front of the leaders and the crowd, the troops handed over their prisoners and the property they had taken from Judah. 15 The four leaders took some of the stolen clothes and gave them to the prisoners who needed something to wear. They later gave them all a new change of clothes and shoes, then fixed them something to eat and drink, and cleaned their wounds with olive oil. They gave donkeys to those who were too weak to walk, and led all of them back to Jericho, the city known for its palm trees. The leaders then returned to Samaria.
Ahaz Asks the King of Assyria for Help
(2 Kings 16.7-9)16-18 Some time later, the Edomites attacked the eastern part of Judah again and carried away prisoners. And at the same time, the Philistines raided towns in the western foothills and in the Southern Desert. They conquered the towns of Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo, including the villages around them. Then some of the Philistines went to live in these places.
Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria and begged for help. 19 But God was punishing Judah with these disasters, because Ahaz had disobeyed him and refused to stop Judah from sinning. 20 So Tiglath Pileser came to Judah, but instead of helping, he made things worse. 21 Ahaz gave him gifts from the Lord's temple and the king's palace, as well as from the homes of Israel's other leaders. The Assyrian king still refused to help Ahaz.
The Final Sin of Ahaz and His Death
22 Even after all these terrible things happened to Ahaz, he sinned against the Lord even worse than before. 23 He said to himself, “The Syrian gods must have helped their kings defeat me. Maybe if I offer sacrifices to those gods, they will help me.” That was the sin that finally led to the downfall of Ahaz, as well as to the destruction of Judah.
24 Ahaz collected all the furnishings of the temple and smashed them to pieces. Then he locked the doors to the temple and set up altars to foreign gods on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every city and town in Judah he built local shrines to worship foreign gods. All of this made the Lord God of his ancestors very angry.
26 Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. His son Hezekiah then became king.
Ahas ma rire ombara mOjuda
(2Ozo 16:1-4)1 Ahas wa rira ombara tja ri nozombura omirongo vivari; neye wa honapara mOjerusalem oure wozombura omurongo na hamboumwe. Eye ka horerere kotjikaro otjiwa tjaihe mukururume ombara David; moruveze rwanao wa tjita imbi mbyaa vi ha tjata ku Muhona, 2 na horere kovikaro vyozombara za Israel. Eye wa ungurisa oviserekarera vyovitenda vya Baal, 3 na twimisire ovyomoro omuwa momukutu wa Ben-Hinom; nu wina wa punguha ovanatje ve omuini ovazandu ve rire ozombunguhiro ozoningiririsiwa kovisenginina, ama horere kovitjitwa oviyaukise vyoviwaṋa Muhona mbya rambere mehi, Ovaisrael tji ve ya. 4 Ahas wa punguhira ozombunguhiro na twimisire ovyomoro omuwa poṋa pekepeke pomerikotameneno kovisenginina kozondundu na kehi yomiti avihe vyomizire wina.
Ovita kuna Ovasirie nOvaisrael
(2Ozo 16:5)5 Motjimbe tjourunde wombara Ahas mbwa tjita, Muhona, Ndjambi we, we mu yandja momake wombara ya Sirie, noyo ye mu havera nai huura ovandu ve ovengi, nai ve twara kOdamaskus otja ovakamburwa. Eye wina wa yandjewa momake wombara ya Israel ndje mu havera tjinene. 6 Pekah, omuzandu wa Remalja, wa zepa ovarwe ozombangaṋe 120,000 meyuva rimwe mOjuda, tjinga ava nakaura Muhona, Ndjambi wooihe mukururume. 7 Omuisrael umwe omurwe wovita wena Sikri wa zepa Maaseja, omuzandu wombara Ahas, na Asrikam, omutye wondjuwo youhona, na Elkana, ngwa ri omukuramenepo wombara. 8 Nangarire kutja Ovajuda va ri ovomuhoko umwe nOvaisrael, otjimbumba tjOvaisrael tjovita tja huura ovakazendu novanatje vawo 200,000 natji ve twara kOsamaria puna ovihuurwa ovingi.
Omuprofete Obed
9 Omurumendu ngwa rukirwe Obed, omuprofete wa Muhona, wa turire mOsamaria. Eye wa hakaena notjimbumba tjOvaisrael tjovita, ama tji kotoka. Nu tji tja ri pokuhita motjihuro wa tja nai: “Muhona, Ndjambi wooiho mukururume, wa pindika nOvajuda, nu wa tjita kutja mu ve havere; nungwari eṋe mwe ve zepa momazenge omanene. 10 Nambano eṋe mwe rimana okutjita ovarumendu novakazendu va Jerusalem nova Judea ve rire ovakarere veṋu. Kamu nokutjiwa kutja eṋe wina mwa tjita ouvi ku Muhona, Ndjambi weṋu, are? 11 Purateneye ku ami. Ovahuurwa mba owo omarumbi novaṱena kweṋu. Ve eseye ve yaruke, Muhona tjapo ngee mu vere momazenge we.”
12 Ovarumendu ozohongora vane vomuhoko wa Efraim, okutja ooAsarja, omuzandu wa Johanan, na Berekja, omuzandu wa Mesilemot, na Jehiskija, omuzandu wa Salum, na Amasa, omuzandu wa Hadlai, va sekamena ozondjito zotjimbumba tjOvaisrael tjovita. 13 Owo va tja nai: “Amu eta ovahuurwa mba nguno! Eṱe twa tjita ourunde rukuru komurungu wa Muhona, nu twe mu pindikisa, nga tja yenene okutuvera. Ondjo yetu onene rukuru, nambano mamu vanga okutjita otjiṋa tji matji weza ondjo yetu.” 14 Komuhingo mbwi otjimbumba tjovita tja isa imba ovahuurwa novihuurwa momurungu wotjiwaṋa novanane vatjo, 15 novarumendu mba vane va zikwa okuyandja ozombanda kovahuurwa okuza movihuurwa. Owo ve ve pa ozombanda nozongaku okuzara, nave ve pe ovikurya mbya yenena okurya nokunwa, nave twa omaze womiṋinga movirwaro vyawo. Imba mba ri ovingundi tjinene okukayenda va kavirisiwa kousino; novahuurwa avehe otji va yarurwa kOjeriko, otjihuro tjomavare. NOvaisrael va yaruka konganda kOsamaria.
Ahas ma ningire ombatero kOvasirie
(2Ozo 16:7-9)16 Moruveze ndo ombara Ahas wa hinda ombuze okuningira ombatero kombara ya Asirie, 17 Ovaedom tjinga ava rwisire nave havere Ovajuda rukwao nave ve twara mouhuura. 18 Moruveze tjingero ndo Ovafilisti va huura ovihuro mbya ri mEhi-erari na mOnegeb ra Juda. Ovihuro mbi vya ri ooBet-Semes na Ajalon na Gederot; wina va huura ovihuro Soko na Timna na Gimso puna ovirongo vyavyo, nave tura mu vyo ongarerere; 19 orondu Muhona wa susuparisa Juda mena ra Ahas, ombara ya Juda, eye tjinga a tjita ezunganeno mOjuda ne ha ṱakamene mu Ndjambi. 20 Komuhingo mbwi Tiglat-Pileser, ombara ya Asirie, moruveze rwokuvatera Ahas we mu sekamena ne mu etere oumba. 21 Ahas otja toora ovihuze vyondjuwo ya Muhona novyondjuwo youhona novyozondjuwo zovahongore votjiwaṋa, ne vi yandja kombara ya Asirie, nungwari mokutjita nai wina kape vaterere.
Omauvi wa Ahas
22 Oviwonga vye tji vya rira ovinene, ombara Ahas wa tura ondjo komurungu wa Muhona komeho yarutenga. 23 Ahas wa punguhira ozombunguhiro koomukuru vovisenginina vOvasirie mbe mu haverere, ama tja nai: “Oomukuru vOvasirie va vatera ozombara za Sirie; nami tji mbe ze punguhire ozombunguhiro, ngahino maze ndji vatere wina.” Nungwari ihi tja eta onyoneno ku ye na kotjiwaṋa tje. 24 Ahas wa toora oviungurise avihe vyondjuwo ya Muhona ne vi nyanyaura. Eye wa pata ondjuwo ya Ndjambi na ziki ovipunguhiro momivanda avihe vya Jerusalem. 25 Motjihuro na motjirongo atjihe mOjuda eye wa tunga poṋa pomerikotameneno kovisenginina pu mape twimisirwa ovyomoro omuwa koomukuru vovisenginina. Komuhingo mbwi otje riyetera omuni omazenge wa Muhona, Ndjambi wooihe mukururume.
26 Ovitjitwa avihe vyouhonapare we okuza kombutiro nga kondjandero vya tjangwa mEmbo rEkuruhungi rOzombara za Juda noza Israel. 27 Ombara Ahas wa koka na pakwa mOjerusalem, nungwari ka pakerwe momaendo wouhona. Omuzandu we Hiskija we mu pingena okurira ombara.
