آحاز يخلف يوثام
(2أخ 28:1-27)1 في السَّنةِ السَّابعةَ عَشْرَةَ لِفَقْحَ بنِ رَمَلْيا، ملَكَ آحازُ بنُ يوثامَ على يَهوذا. 2 وكانَ آحازُ ابنَ عشرينَ سنَةً، ودامَ مُلْكُهُ سِتَّ عَشْرَةَ سَنةً بِأورُشليمَ ولم يكُنْ صالِحا في نظَرِ الرّبِّ إلهِهِ مِثلَ داوُدَ جَدِّهِ، 3 بَلِ اقْتَدى بِمُلوكِ إِسرائيلَ، حتّى إنَّهُ أحرقَ ابنَهُ في النَّارِ قُربانا لِلبَعلِ. وهذِهِ رجاسةٌ مارسَها الأمَمُ الّذينَ طَرَدَهُمُ الرّبُّ مِنْ وجهِ بَني إِسرائيلَ. 4 وذبَحَ لِلبَعلِ وبخَّرَ لَه على المُرتَفَعاتِ والتِّلالِ وتَحتَ كُلِّ شجَرةٍ خضراءَ.
5 وهاجَمَ رَصينُ مَلِكُ آرامَ وفَقْحُ بنُ رَمَلْيا مَلِكُ إِسرائيلَ مدينةَ أورُشليمَ وحاصَراها، فلم يقدِرا أنْ يَغلِبا أحازَ. 6 وفي ذلِكَ الوقتِ استَرَدَّ مَلِكُ أدومَ أيلَةَ وجاءَ الأدوميُّونَ إليها وطَرَدوا مِنها بَني يَهوذا وأقاموا هُناكَ إلى هذا اليومِ. 7 وأرسلَ أحازُ إلى تَغلَثَ فلاسَرَ مَلِكِ أشُّورَ يقولُ: «أنا عبدُكَ وابنُكَ، تَعالَ وخلِّصْني مِنْ مَلِكِ آرام ومِنْ ومَلِكِ إِسرائيلَ». 8 وأخذَ أحازُ ما وجَدَهُ مِنَ الفضَّةِ والذَّهبِ في هَيكلِ الرّبِّ وخزائِنِ قصرِ المَلِكِ وأرسلَهُ هديَّةً إلى مَلِكِ أشورَ. 9 فلَبَّـى مَلِكُ أشورَ طلَبَهُ وزحَفَ على دِمَشقَ فاحتَلَّها وسَبى سُكَّانَها إلى قِـيرَ، وقتلَ المَلِكَ رَصينَ.
10 ولمَّا ذهبَ المَلِكُ آحازُ لِـيَستَقبِلَ تَغْلَثَ فَلاسَرَ مَلِكَ أشُّورَ بِدِمَشقَ رَأى المذبَحَ هُناكَ وأُعجِبَ بهِ، فأرسلَ إلى أوريَّا الكاهنِ شَكْلَ المذبَحِ مرسوما بِـجميعِ تفاصيلِهِ. 11 فبَنى أوريَّا الكاهنُ مذبَحا مِثلَه، وأكمَلَهُ قَبلَ رُجوعِ المَلِكِ آحازَ مِنْ دِمَشقَ. 12 فلمَّا عادَ آحازُ رَأى المذبَحَ، فاقتَرَبَ مِنهُ وصَعِدَ علَيهِ 13 وأحرقَ ذبـيحةً وقَدَّمَ الدَّقيقَ والخمرَ، ورَشَّ ذبـيحةَ سلامَتِه على المذبَحِ. 14 وكانَ مذبَحُ النُّحاسِ الّذي قُدَّامَ الرّبِّ بَينَ المذبَحِ الجديدِ وهَيكلِ الرّبِّ، فنَقَلَهُ أحازُ مِنْ هُناكَ ووضَعَهُ على جانِبِ المذبَحِ مِنْ ناحيةِ الشَّمالِ. 15 وقالَ أحازُ لأوريَّا الكاهنِ: «مِنَ الآنَ فصاعِدا، صباحا ومساءً على هذا المذبَحِ الكبـيرِ تحرُقُ الذبـيحةَ وتُقَدِّمُ الدَّقيقَ والخمرَ عنِّي وعَنِ الشَّعبِ وتَرُشُّ دِماءَ الذَّبائِـحِ. أمَّا مذبَحُ النُّحاسِ فيكونُ لِمَعرِفَةِ الغَيـبِ». 16 فعَمِلَ أوريَّا الكاهنُ بِما أمرَهُ المَلِكُ أحازُ.
17 وفَكَّ المَلِكُ آحازُ عجَلاتِ النُّحاسِ الّتي في هَيكلِ بَيتِ الرّبِّ وأزاحَ المَغاسِلَ عَنها، وأنزَلَ الحَوضَ عَنْ ثِـيرانِ النُّحاسِ الّتي تَحتَهُ ووضَعَهُ على حجارةٍ مَرصوفةٍ. 18 مِنْ هَيكلِ الرّبِّ أزالَ رِواقَ السَبْتِ، وأغلَقَ مَدخَلَ المَلِكِ، تَذَلُّلا لِمَلِكِ أشُّورَ. 19 وما بَقيَ مِنْ أخبارِ آحازَ وأعمالِهِ مُدَوَّنٌ في سِفْرِ أخبارِ الأّيّامِ لِمُلوكِ يَهوذا. 20 وماتَ آحازُ ودُفِنَ معَ آبائِهِ في مدينةِ داوُدَ، وملَكَ حَزْقيَّا ابنُهُ مكانَهُ.
King Ahaz of Judah
(2 Chronicles 28.1-27)1 Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah in the seventeenth year of Pekah's rule in Israel. 2 He was 20 years old at the time, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years.
Ahaz wasn't like his ancestor David. Instead, he disobeyed the Lord 3 and was even more sinful than the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son, 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.
5-6 While Ahaz was ruling Judah, the king of Edom recaptured the town of Elath from Judah and forced out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath, and they still live there.
About the same time, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched to Jerusalem and attacked, but they could not capture it.
7 Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria that said, “Your Majesty, King Rezin and King Pekah are attacking me, your loyal servant. Please come and rescue me.” 8 Along with the message, Ahaz sent silver and gold from the Lord's temple and from the palace treasury as a gift for the Assyrian king.
9 As soon as Tiglath Pileser received the message, he and his troops marched to Syria. He captured the capital city of Damascus, then he took the people living there to the town of Kir as prisoners and killed King Rezin.
10 Later, Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser. And while Ahaz was there, he saw an altar and sent a model of it back to Uriah the priest, along with the plans for building one. 11 Uriah followed the plans and built an altar exactly like the one in Damascus, finishing it just before Ahaz came back.
12 When Ahaz returned, he went to see the altar and to offer sacrifices on it. He walked up to the altar 13 and poured wine over it. Then he offered sacrifices to please the Lord, to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessings. 14 After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside, so his new altar would be right in front of the Lord's temple. 15 He told Uriah the priest:
From now on, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as all gifts of grain and wine are to be offered on this altar. The sacrifices for the people and for the king must also be offered here. Sprinkle the blood from all the sacrifices on it, but leave the bronze altar for me to use for prayer and finding out what God wants me to do.
16 Uriah did everything Ahaz told him.
17 Ahaz also had the side panels and the small bowls taken off the movable stands in the Lord's temple. He had the large bronze bowl, called the Sea, removed from the bronze bulls on which it rested and had it placed on a stand made of stone. 18 He took down the special tent that was used for worship on the Sabbath and closed up the private entrance that the kings of Judah used for going into the temple. He did all these things to please Tiglath Pileser.
19 Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 20 Ahaz died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Hezekiah became king.