King Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the basin from off them, and took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stone.
Parallel Translations
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King Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the basin from off them, and took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stone.
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And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
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And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stone.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 16:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 7:23-39 He made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in shape. Its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it. Under its brim around there were buds which encircled it for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The buds were in two rows, cast when it was cast. It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward. It was a hand width thick. Its brim was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths. He made the ten bases of bronze. The length of one base was four cubits, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. The work of the bases was like this: they had panels; and there were panels between the ledges; and on the panels that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the ledges there was a pedestal above; and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. Every base had four bronze wheels, and axles of bronze; and the four feet of it had supports. The supports were cast beneath the basin, with wreaths at the side of each. Its mouth within the capital and above was a cubit. Its mouth was round after the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its mouth were engravings, and their panels were square, not round. The four wheels were underneath the panels; and the axles of the wheels were in the base. The height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. The work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel. Their axles, and their rims, and their spokes, and their naves, were all of cast metal. There were four supports at the four corners of each base. Its supports were of the base itself. In the top of the base there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the base its supports and its panels were the same. On the plates of its supports, and on its panels, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, each in its space, with wreaths all around. He made the ten bases in this way: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form. He made ten basins of bronze. One basin contained forty baths; and every basin was four cubits; and on every one of the ten bases one basin. He set the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward and toward the south.
- 2 Kings 25:13-16 The Chaldeans broke up the pillars of bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and the bases and the bronze sea that were in Yahweh’s house, and carried the bronze pieces to Babylon. They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with which they ministered. The captain of the guard took away the fire pans, the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver. The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for Yahweh’s house, the bronze of all these vessels was not weighed.
- 2 Chronicles 4:14-15 He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases; one sea, and the twelve oxen under it.
- 2 Chronicles 28:24 Ahaz gathered together the vessels of God’s house, and cut the vessels of God’s house in pieces, and shut up the doors of Yahweh’s house; and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 29:19 Moreover have we prepared and sanctified all the vessels which king Ahaz threw away in his reign, when he was unfaithful. Behold, they are before Yahweh’s altar.”
- Jeremiah 52:20 They took the two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for Yahweh’s house. The bronze of all these vessels was without weight.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 16:17 And king Ahaz cut off the borders…
2Ki 16:17 And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that [were] under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
Ver. 17. And king Ahaz cut off the borders.] He took away both the ornaments and instruments of the true religion.
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 Which he did, either to express his contempt of…
Which he did, either to express his contempt of them, or to render them inconvenient for the uses to which they had been designed; or to dispose of them, or of the brass of them, in some other place and way, as best suited with his fancy; or for the king of Assyria as it follows in the next verse.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, I. Ahaz abusing the temple, not the…
Here is, I. Ahaz abusing the temple, not the building itself, but some of the furniture of it. 1. He defaced the bases on which the lavers were set (Kg1 7:28, Kg1 7:29) and took down the molten sea, Kg2 16:17. These the priests used for washing; against them therefore he seems to have had a particular spite. It is one of the greatest prejudices that can be done to religion to obstruct the purifying of the priests, the Lord's ministers. 2. He removed the covert for the sabbath, erected either in honour of the sabbath or for the conveniency of the priests, when, on the sabbath, they officiated in greater numbers than on other days. Whatever it was, it should seem that in removing it he intended to put a contempt upon the sabbath, and so to open as wide an inlet as any to all manner of impiety. 3. The king's entry, which led to the house of the Lord, for the convenience of the royal family (perhaps that ascent which Solomon had made, and which the queen of Sheba admired, Kg1 10:5), he turned another way, to show that he did not intend to frequent the house of the Lord any more. This he did for the king of Assyria, to oblige him, who perhaps returned his visit, and found fault with this entry, as an inconvenience and disparagement to his palace. When those that have had a ready passage to the house of the Lord, to please their neighbours, turn it another way, they are going down the hill apace towards their ruin.
II. Ahaz resigning his life in the midst of his days, at thirty-six years of age (Kg2 16:19) and leaving his kingdom to a better man, Hezekiah his son (Kg2 16:20), who proved as much a friend to the temple as he had been an enemy to it. Perhaps this very son he had made to pass through the fire, and thereby dedicated him to Moloch; but God, by his grace, snatched him as a brand out of the burning.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which…
Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Some others are written in the canonical book of Chronicles, Ch2 28:1 and were, it is highly probable, in the annals of the kings of Judah, now lost.
2 Kings 16:20
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 16:17. Ahaz cut off the borders of the…
2Ki 16:17. Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen, &c. — Probably that he might dispose of them, or of the brass of them, in some other way; perhaps that he might turn them into money, either by casting them into such pieces as were current, or by selling them as they were.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain See the marginal references. The acts recorded here, were…
See the marginal references. The acts recorded here, were probably not mere wanton acts of mutilation, but steps in the conversion of these sacred objects to other uses, as to the ornamentation of a palace or of an idol temple. The bases, the oxen, and the sea were not destroyed - they remained at Jerusalem until its final capture Jer 52:17, Jer 52:20. Probably they were restored to their original uses by Hezekiah 2Ch 29:19.
A pavement of stones - Probably a pavement made expressly, for the stones of the court seem to have been covered with a planking of cedar 1Ki 6:36; 1Ki 7:12.
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 Stone, all out of avarice, (Haydock) and contempt of…
Stone, all out of avarice, (Haydock) and contempt of the Lord, who chastized him. (Menochius) --- He took away the plates of brass, c., from the doors, (Calmet) which Ezechias was forced to replace, (Haydock) afterwards to take down for the Assyrians, chap. xviii. 16. (Calmet)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (Kg2 16:17-19)
HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (Kg2 16:17-19)
cut off the borders of the bases, &c.--It is thought that he did this to use the elaborate sculpture in adorning his palace.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. Borders of the bases… laver… sea… brazen oxen…
17. Borders of the bases… laver… sea… brazen oxen — See notes and cuts at 1Ki_7:23-39. On his object in removing these precious things, see next verse.
A pavement of stones — A structure or pedestal made of stones; less costly and attractive than the brazen oxen.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases]…
17. Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases] For a description of these bases, which were moveable stands to carry the lavers used for the sacrifices, see 1Ki_7:27-39. The borders were of highly wrought ornamental work, made by Hiram of Tyre for king Solomon.
removed the laver from off them] i.e. From each of them. There were ten bases, with a laver on the top of each one.
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and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen] This sea was also the work of Hiram. See 1Ki_7:23-26. It was supported by twelve oxen, three looking each way, and standing with their tails beneath the huge vessel. Ahaz took these beautiful castings away and allowed the sea to rest upon stone supports. As all these acts are in the next verse said to be done ‘because of the king of Assyria’ we may suppose that Tiglath-pileser was disposed to ask for the beautiful things which he saw, and as it was not in Ahaz’s power to say him nay, the king removed these treasures that the Assyrian monarch might not see and ask for them.
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 (17, 18) And king Ahaz cut off.—The key to…
(17, 18) And king Ahaz cut off.—The key to the right understanding of these verses is given in the last words of 2Ki_16:18. Ahaz spoiled the Temple of its ornamental work, not out of wanton malice, but from dire necessity. He had to provide a present for the king of Assyria. Thus these verses are really a continuation of the first statement of 2Ki_16:10. They inform us how Ahaz managed not to appear empty-handed at Damascus. (So Thenius.) Prof. R. Smith says: “Ahaz, whose treasures had been exhausted by his first tribute, was soon driven by the repeated demands of his masters to strip the Temple even of its ancient bronze-work and other fixed ornaments. The incidental mention of this fact in a fragment of the history of the Temple incorporated in the Book of Kings is sufficient evidence of the straits to which the kingdom of Judah was reduced.”
Borders of the bases.—See 1Ki_7:28. Thenius thinks Ahaz replaced them with unadorned plates, and set the laver up in a different fashion; but the text does not say so. (Comp., however, 2Ki_25:13; 2Ki_25:16; Jer_52:17.)
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The brasen oxen.—These were ultimately carried off by the Babylonians (Jer_52:20).
A pavement of stones—i.e., a pedestal or foundation of stonework: ἐπὶ βάσιν λιθίνην (LXX.).
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 And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the…
And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases. By "the bases" are probably meant the stands of the ten brazen layers, which Hiram the Tyrian artificer made for Solomon, and which Solomon placed outside the temple, five on either side of the entrance. (1Ki_7:39) The "borders of the bases" seem to have consisted of ornamental panels, on which were carved, in relief, figures of lions, oxen, and cherubim, (1Ki_7:29) The object of Ahaz in these mutilations may have been merely destructive, as we find Egyptian kings, after a change of religion, mutilating the tablets, and erasing the inscriptions put up in honor of those gods who had ceased to be in favor with them. Or, possibly, he may, as Keil supposes, have wished to transfer the ornamental carvings to some other edifice, e.g. an idolatrous temple or a palace. And removed the laver from off them removed, i.e. , from each base "the laver" which stood upon itand took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it. (On Solomon"s "molten sea," or great laver, and the twelve oxen which supported it, comp. 1Ki_7:23-26, and Jer_52:20) The "sea" was probably removed from off the backs of the oxen, in order that they might be made use of, as ornaments, elsewhere. And put it upon a pavement of stones; rather, upon a pedestal of stone (ejpisin liqinhn, LXX).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the portable stands
the portable stands
"the movable stands" or "the carts." These stands had wheels on them so they could be moved around.
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he also took down the sea
"he also removed the large bowl." The "sea" was a huge basin or water bowl that was made of bronze.
because of the king of Assyria
Why they did this can be stated explicitly. AT: "to please the king of Assyria" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
cow
Sabbath
temple
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 16:17-18 Because the side panels and basins from the…
16:17-18 Because the side panels and basins from the . . . water carts and the Sea were made of bronze (see 1 Kgs 7:25-40), Ahaz might have used them to pay tribute or for some other project. • In deference: Apparently at the request of the king of Assyria, Ahaz removed the canopy that led to the inner court as well as to the king’s private entrance to the Temple. Judah paid a heavy price in loss of freedom because of Ahaz’s trust in the Assyrian king’s military intervention on their behalf (2 Kgs 16:7-8, 10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.