And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it.
Parallel translations
- WEB When the king had come from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king came near to the altar, and offered on it.
- KJV And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
- BSB When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
- NASB And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then the king approached the altar and went up to it,
- NLT When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
On his return, Ahaz approaches the new altar and offers sacrifices on it. The king himself leads in this unauthorized worship.
Overview
Ahaz personally inaugurates the pagan-modeled altar, taking up a priestly role in offering sacrifices. His eager participation shows that this was no mere political gesture but genuine devotion to a corrupted form of worship. The scene displays a king actively leading Judah away from the LORD's prescribed worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Chr 26:16–19But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against Yahweh his God; for he went into Yahweh’s temple to burn incense on the altar of incense.
- 1 Kgs 13:1Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Beth El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
- 2 Chr 28:25In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked Yahweh, the God of his fathers, to anger.
- Num 18:4–7They shall be joined to you, and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you.
- 2 Chr 28:23For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which struck him. He said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, so I will sacrifice to them, that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 16:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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