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 ohamba yaJuda
1 Omido daAhas da li omilongo mbali ye eshi a ninga ohamba, nokwa pangela muJerusalem omido omulongo nanhano ndele ina ninga osho sha yuka momesho Omwene ngaashi xe David a ninga. 2 Ndelenee okwa enda neendjila deehamba daIsrael nokwa ningila Baal oitelekwafano. 3 Nokwa xwika omayambo mefilu laHinnom novana vaye e va xwika po nomundilo paixuna yoiwana ya tewa po kOmwene komesho yovana vaIsrael. 4 Nokwa yamba ndele ta twiminine oitwiminifo koikulundu nokomitune nopomuti keshe mutalala. 5 Onghee hano Omwene Kalunga kaye e mu yandja meke lohamba yaAram. Ndele vo ove mu ta ndele va kwata movakwaita vaye ongudu inene yeenghwate ndele ve va twala kuDamaskus. Ndele okwa yandjwa yo meke lohamba yaIsrael, ndele yo oye mu ta molwoodi linene. 6 Peka yaRemalja okwa dipaa muJuda mefiku limwe alike ovalumenhu ovaladi omayovi efele nomilongo mbali, shaashi vo ove liteeka Omwene, Kalunga kooxe. 7 Ndele Sikri, omuladi wokuEfraim, okwa dipaa Maasea, omona wohamba, naAsrikam, elenga leumbo lohamba, naElkana, ou a kala pohamba. 8 Novana vaIsrael va kwata ovamwaina vovakainhu novana ovamati noukadona ve fike pomayovi omafele avali ndele ve va twala eenghwate. Ndele va kufa kuvo oixuulwa ihapu ndele ve i twala kuSamaria.
9 Ndele oko kwa li omuxunganeki wOmwene, edina laye Oded. Nokwa ya okushakeneka omatanga ovakwaita ava ve uya kuSamaria, ndele ta ti kuvo: “Taleni, omolwoupyuhandu wOmwene, Kalunga kooxo eshi a handukila Juda, Ye okwe va yandja momake eni, ndele nye mwe va dipaa nehandu linene tali hange fiyo okeulu. 10 Ndele paife tamu diladila okuninga ovana vaJuda novaJerusalem ovapika veni ovalumenhu novakainhu. Kamu na nokuli mbela omanyonauno mahapu koshipala shOmwene Kalunga keni? 11 Pwilikinei nge paife, mu lekele eenghwate odo mwe di kufa kovamwaxo, va shune ko. Osheshi ehandu lOmwene li li kombada yeni!” 12 Opo nee ovalumenhu vamwe vomovakulunhu vovana vaEfraim va twa eemhata naava va dja koita nokutya, Asaria yaJohanan, Berekia yaMesillemot naJehiskia yaSallum naAmasa yaHadlai, 13 ndele tave va lombwele: “Inamu eta oku eenghwate, osheshi tamu tu velifa ombedi koshipala shOmwene. Osheshi okunyona kwetu okunene nehandu laye li li kombada yaIsrael.” 14 Ava va dililwa va efa hano eenghwate noixuulwa moipafi yovakulunhu noyoshiongalele ashishe. 15 Novalumenhu ava va tumbulwa pamadina avo va fikama ndele va tambula eenghwate ve di file oshisho, naaveshe ovo va li hamunghele mokati kavo va pewa oikutu yomoixuulwa. Ndele vo va pewa kuvo oikutu neenghaku ndele ve va pa okulya nokunwa ndele ve va vaeka ndele aveshe ava va loloka va londekwa keendongi ndele va twalwa kovamwaxe fiyo okuJeriko, oshilando shomilunga. Opo va shuna kuSamaria.
Ehandu lOmwene tali hange Ahas
16 Pefimbo tuu olo ohamba Ahas ya tuma keehamba daAsiria, do di i kwafe. 17 Osheshi nOvaedom yo ve uya ndele va ta Juda ndele va kufa eenghwate. 18 NOvafilisti va luwa oilando yomoshilongo shoumbangalanhu waJuda. Ndele va nangala Bet-Semes naAijalon naGederot naSoko naTimna naGimso nomikunda dado ndele tava tula mo. 19 Osheshi Omwene a ninipika Juda omolwaAhas, ohamba yaIsrael, shaashi a tandavelifa okuhadulika ndele a kala ina diinina Omwene. 20 Ndele Tiglat-Pileser, ohamba yaAsiria, oye mu homona ndele ye mu fininika, ndele inai mu kwafa. 21 Osheshi Ahas okwa tinha ongulu yOmwene nongulu yohamba neengulu dovakulunhu, ndele oinima e i tuma kohamba yaAsiria, nande inya inai mu kwafa sha.
22 Nomefimbo tuu olo, eshi va fininika unene ohamba Ahas, yo ya nyona unene kOmwene, 23 ye okwa yambela oikalunga yomuDamaskus, oyo ya li ye mu taataa, ndele ta ti: “Shaashi oikalunga yeehamba daAram ye di kwafa, naame yo ohandi i yambele, opo i kwafe nge!” Ndelenee oyo tuu oyo ye mu twala noya twala Israel ashishe menyonauko. 24 Ndele Ahas okwa ongela oinima aishe yomongulu yaKalunga, noinima yomongulu yaKalunga e i teyaula po nokwa vika oivelo yongulu yOmwene, nokwe litungila eealtari monhele keshe yomuJerusalem. 25 Nomoilando aishe yomuJuda yo okwa tunga oikulundu yokuyambela oikalunga yoilongo nosho a handukifa Omwene Kalunga kooxe.
26 Noinima imwe tai mu hepaulula noilonga yaye aishe, yotete noyaxuuninwa, tala, oya shangwa membo leehamba daJuda nodaIsrael. 27 Ndele Ahas okwa ka nangala pooxe nokwa pakwa moshilando muJerusalem, osheshi inave mu paka meembila deehamba daIsrael. Nomona waye Hiskia okwa ninga ohamba ponhele yaye.
