but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also made molten images for the Baals. Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
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2 Chronicles 28:2-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, like David his father, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also made molten images for the Baals. Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Parallel Translations
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but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also made molten images for the Baals.
Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
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For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Show all 3 translations
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but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for the Baalim.
Moreover he offered in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
And he sacrificed and offered in the high places, and on the hills, and under every leafy tree.
Cross-references (29)
- Exodus 34:17 (v2) “You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.
- 2 Chronicles 33:2 (v3) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6 (v3) He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft,…
- Leviticus 18:21 (v3) “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech. You shall not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Joshua 15:8 (v3) The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem) southward; and the border went up…
Show all 29 cross-references
- Judges 2:11 (v2) The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals.
- 2 Kings 23:10 (v3) He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the…
- Leviticus 19:4 (v2) “ ‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.
- Leviticus 26:30 (v4) I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul…
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (v4) You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the…
- Deuteronomy 12:31 (v3) You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn…
- Deuteronomy 18:9 (v3) When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations.
- Judges 2:13 (v2) They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
- 1 Kings 16:31-33 (v2) As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal…
- 2 Kings 10:26-28 (v2) They brought out the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house…
- 2 Kings 16:3 (v3) But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the…
- 2 Kings 16:4 (v4) He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- 2 Chronicles 21:6 (v2) He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did Ahab’s house; for he had Ahab’s daughter as his wife. He did that which was evil in…
- 2 Chronicles 22:3-4 (v2) He also walked in the ways of Ahab’s house, because his mother was his counselor in acting wickedly. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s…
- Psalms 106:37-38 (v3) Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their…
- Jeremiah 2:34 (v3) Also the blood of the souls of the innocent poor is found in your skirts. You didn’t find them breaking in, but it is because of all these…
- Jeremiah 7:31-32 (v3) They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the…
- Jeremiah 19:2-6 (v3) and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Harsith, and proclaim there the words that I will tell…
- Jeremiah 19:13 (v3) The houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on…
- Jeremiah 32:35 (v3) They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through…
- Ezekiel 16:20-21 (v3) “ ‘ “Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and you have sacrificed these to them to be devoured.…
- Hosea 2:13 (v2) I will visit on her the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went…
- Hosea 2:17 (v2) For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by name.
- Micah 6:7 (v3) Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2–3 As the idolaters have certain chief idols, who are…
As the idolaters have certain chief idols, who are as patrons (as were these Baalim) so have they others which are inferior and do represent the great idols.
He was an idolater like them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2Ch 28:2 For he walked in the ways of…
2Ch 28:2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
Ver. 2. For hs walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.] Yea, he outdid them in wickedness. See on 2Ki 16:3-4. Sundry holy prophets, as Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, &c., declaimed earnestly against his abominable practices, and proclaimed hell-fire in case he repented not; but he either turned the deaf ear to them, or, if he gave them the hearing, yet he heeded them not; luporum instar, ingenium non mutavit.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v2 To worship his Baalim, or false gods, in and…
To worship his Baalim, or false gods, in and by them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v3 Verse 3. Burnt his children in the fire] There…
Verse 3. Burnt his children in the fire] There is a most remarkable addition here in the Chaldee which I shall give at length: "Ahaz burnt his children in the fire; but the WORD of the Lord snatched Hezekiah from among them; for it was manifest before the Lord that the three righteous men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were to proceed from him; who should deliver up their bodies that they might be cast into a burning fiery furnace, on account of the great and glorious NAME, (יהוה) and from which they should escape. First, Abram escaped from the furnace of fire among the Chaldeans, into which he had been cast by Nimrod, because he would not worship their idols. Secondly, Tamar escaped burning in the house of judgment of Judah, who had said, Bring her out, that she may be burnt. Thirdly, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz escaped from the burning, when Ahaz his father cast him into the valley of the son of Hinnom, on the altars of Tophet. Fourthly, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, escaped from the burning fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Fifthly, Joshua, the son of Josedek the high priest, escaped, when the impious Nebuchadnezzar had cast him into a burning fiery furnace, with Achaab the son of Kolia, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, the false prophet. They were consumed by fire; but Joshua the son of Josedek escaped because of his righteousness."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Images for Baalim - Or, to serve as Baalim,…
Images for Baalim - Or, to serve as Baalim, i. e as representatives of the different forms or characters of the chief Phoenician deity.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Benennon, "the son of Ennom," 4 K. xvi. ---…
Benennon, "the son of Ennom," 4 K. xvi. --- Consecrated. Heb. "burnt." H.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. for Baalim] R.V. for the Baalim.
2. for Baalim] R.V. for the Baalim.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–3 (2) And made also molten images for Baalim.—For the…
(2) And made also molten images for Baalim.—For the Baals, i.e., the different aspects or avatars of the Canaanite god. This clause is added by the chronicler, in explanation of the former one; “the way of the kings of Israel” was the state recognition of Baal worship, side by side with that of Jehovah (2Ch_21:6; 2Ch_22:3-4; comp. 2Ch_23:17). But possibly both this and the first clause of 2Ch_28:3 have fallen out of the text of Kings. (So Thenius on that passage.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Molten images; Hebrew, twOkSem. This was a characteristic sin…
Molten images; Hebrew, twOkSem. This was a characteristic sin of Israel, but Judah had not been guilty of making molten images during late reigns.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v2 For he walked in the ways of the kings…
2Ch_28:2
For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.
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The ways of the kings of Israel
Israel was for the most part more powerful, wealthy, and cultured than Judah. When Ahaz came to the throne as a mere youth, Pekah was apparently in the prime of life and the zenith of power. He is no inapt symbol of what the modern tempter at any rate desires to appear: the showy, pretentious man of the world, who parades his knowledge of life, and impresses the inexperienced youth with his shrewdness and success, and makes his victim eager to imitate him, to walk in the ways of the kings of Israel. (W. H. Bennett, M.A)
Molten images for Baalim.--
Molten images for the Baals
The prospect of making images for the Baals is an insidious temptation. Ahaz perhaps had found the decorous worship of the one God dull and monotonous. Baals meant new gods and new rites, with all the excitement of novelty and variety. Jotham may not have realised that this youth of twenty was a man; he may have been treated as a child and left too much to the women of the harem. Responsible activity might have saved him. The Church needs to recognise that healthy, vigorous youth craves interesting occupation, and even excitement. If a father wishes to send his son to the devil, he cannot do better than make that sons life, both secular and religious, a routine of monotonous drudgery. Then any pinchbeck king of Israel will seem a marvel of wit and good fellowship, and the making of molten images a most pleasing diversion. A molten image is something solid, permanent, and conspicuous, a standing advertisement of the enterprise and artistic taste of the maker; he engraves his name on the pedestal, and is proud of the honourable distinction. Many of our modern molten images are duly set forth in popular works; for instance, the reputation for impure life, or hard drinking, or reckless gambling, to achieve which some men have spent their time and money and toil. Other molten images are dedicated to another class of Baals: Mammon the respectable and Belial the polite. (W. H. Bennett, M.A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v3 the Valley of Ben Hinnom
the Valley of Ben Hinnom
This is a valley in Jerusalem. (See: How to Translate Names)
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before the people of Israel
The people of those nations fled as the people of Israel moved into the land. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "before the people of Israel who moved into the land" or "as the people of Israel moved into the land" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the high places and on the hills and under every green tree
These are places where the people of the other nations worshiped their false gods.
under every green tree
God wanted his people to offer sacrifices to him in Jerusalem. The word "every" here is an exaggeration to show how determined King Ahaz was to disobey God by offering sacrifices in many other places instead. AT: "under many green trees" or "under many green trees around the country" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
translationWords
incense
burnt offering
people group
Israel
sacrifice
high place
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v3 28:3-4 even sacrificing his own sons in the fire:…
28:3-4 even sacrificing his own sons in the fire: Ahaz was imitating the abominable conduct of the Canaanites (see Deut 12:31; 18:9-10; Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.