Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
Parallel translations
- WEB Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in Yahweh’s house, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
- KJV And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
- NKJV And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.
- NASB And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria.
- NLT Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king.
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
Ahaz strips the temple and palace treasuries to bribe the king of Assyria. He plunders God's house to buy human protection.
Overview
To secure Assyrian aid, Ahaz empties the silver and gold of the LORD's house and his own treasury. This act treats the temple as a resource for political ends rather than the dwelling of God's holiness. It marks a tragic inversion: a Davidic king robbing God's house to serve a foreign king instead of trusting the God who dwelt there.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Kgs 12:17–18At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
- Isa 7:17The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.”
- 2 Chr 28:20–21Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.
- Ps 7:15–16He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- 2 Kgs 18:15–16Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
- 2 Kgs 16:17–18King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base.
- 2 Chr 16:2So Asa withdrew the silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent it with this message to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
- Isa 8:7–8the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.
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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 16:8 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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