So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 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. The king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin. King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest a drawing of the altar and plans to build it.
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2 Kings 16:7-10 sits inside this longer paragraph.
In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 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 his God’s eyes, like David his father. 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 nations whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war. They besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath, and lived there, to this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 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. The king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin. King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest a drawing of the altar and plans to build it. Urijah the priest built an altar. According to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Urijah the priest made it for the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus. When the king had come from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king came near to the altar, and offered on it. He burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. The bronze altar, which was before Yahweh, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and Yahweh’s house, and put it on the north side of his altar. King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king’s burnt offering, his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their meal offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze altar will be for me to inquire by.” Urijah the priest did so, according to all that king Ahaz commanded. 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. He removed the covered way for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry outside to Yahweh’s house, because of the king of Assyria. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in David’s city, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
Parallel Translations
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So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
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.
The king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin.
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest a drawing of the altar and plans to build it.
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So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
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.
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
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So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying: 'I am thy servant and thy son; come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.'
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.
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.
Cross-references (42)
- 2 Kings 15:29 (vv7, 10) In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead,…
- Isaiah 22:6 (v9) Elam carried his quiver, with chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield.
- Amos 9:7 (v9) Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?” says Yahweh. “Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of…
- 2 Kings 12:17-18 (v8) Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. Jehoash king of…
- Isaiah 8:2 (v10) and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
Show all 41 cross-references
- Ezekiel 23:16-17 (v10) As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them into Chaldea. The Babylonians came to her into the bed of love,…
- Amos 1:3-5 (v9) Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead…
- Romans 12:2 (v10) Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing,…
- Exodus 24:4 (v10) Moses wrote all Yahweh’s words, then rose up early in the morning and built an altar at the base of the mountain, with twelve pillars for…
- Exodus 39:43 (v10) Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded. They had done so; and Moses blessed them.
- Deuteronomy 12:30 (v10) be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods,…
- 1 Kings 20:4 (v7) The king of Israel answered, “It is according to your saying, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have.”
- 1 Kings 20:32-33 (v7) So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says,…
- 2 Kings 16:17-18 (v8) 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…
- 2 Kings 18:15-16 (v8) Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in Yahweh’s house, and in the treasures of the king’s house. At that time, Hezekiah cut off…
- 1 Chronicles 5:26 (v7) So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them…
- 1 Chronicles 28:11-12 (v10) Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its…
- 1 Chronicles 28:19 (v10) “All this”, David said, “I have been made to understand in writing from Yahweh’s hand, even all the works of this pattern.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:2 (v8) Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of Yahweh’s house and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben Hadad king of Syria,…
- 2 Chronicles 28:5 (v9) Therefore Yahweh his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They struck him, and carried away from him a great multitude of…
- 2 Chronicles 28:16 (v7) At that time king Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him.
- 2 Chronicles 28:20 (v7) Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and gave him trouble, but didn’t strengthen him.
- 2 Chronicles 28:20-21 (v8) Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and gave him trouble, but didn’t strengthen him. For Ahaz took away a portion out of Yahweh’s…
- 2 Chronicles 28:21 (v9) For Ahaz took away a portion out of Yahweh’s house, and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of…
- 2 Chronicles 28:23-25 (v10) For 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…
- Psalms 7:15-16 (v8) He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made. The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come…
- Psalms 106:39 (v10) Thus they were defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
- Psalms 146:3-5 (v7) Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very…
- Isaiah 7:16 (v9) For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken.
- Isaiah 7:17 (v8) Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from…
- Isaiah 8:7-8 (v8) now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come…
- Isaiah 9:11 (v9) Therefore Yahweh will set up on high against him the adversaries of Rezin, and will stir up his enemies,
- Jeremiah 10:2 (v10) Yahweh says, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (v7) Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from Yahweh.
- Lamentations 4:17 (v7) Our eyes still fail, looking in vain for our help. In our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save.
- Ezekiel 43:8 (v10) in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door post beside my door post. There was a wall between me and them; and…
- Ezekiel 43:11 (v10) If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its exits, and its…
- Hosea 14:3 (v7) Assyria can’t save us. We won’t ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the…
- Matthew 15:6 (v10) he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
- Matthew 15:9 (v10) And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’ ”
- 1 Peter 1:18 (v10) knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your…
41 distinct cross-references across this passage (42 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7–8 Contrary to the admonition of the Prophet Isaiah, Isa.…
Contrary to the admonition of the Prophet Isaiah, Isa. 7:4.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–10 2Ki 16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king…
2Ki 16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I [am] thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
Ver. 7. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser.] God had offered him a sign for his better assurance, saying, Ask it either in the depth or height above. {Isa 7:11-12} Here was a fair offer to a foul sinner; that where sin abounded, grace might superabound. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I try the Lord, q.d., I will ask no asks, I will try no signs; I know a trick worth two of that; let God keep his signs to himself: I crave no such courtesy at his hands, I can otherwise relieve myself by sending to the Assyrian.
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 vv7, 9, 10 I am thy servant and thy son; I yield…
I am thy servant and thy son; I yield myself to thee, as thy vassal, to serve and obey thee, and pay thee tribute, upon condition thou dost assist me against my enemies.
Out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel; for though they were now gone from Jerusalem, yet he justly concluded they would return again, and from time to time molest and vex him.
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 On v10 Though Ahaz had himself sacrificed in high places, on…
Though Ahaz had himself sacrificed in high places, on hills, and under every green tree (Kg2 16:4), yet God's altar had hitherto continued in its place and in use, and the king's burnt-offering and his meat-offering (Kg2 16:15) had been offered upon it by the priests that attended it; but here we have it taken away by wicked Ahaz, and another altar, an idolatrous one, put in the room of it - a bolder stroke than the worst of the kings had yet given to religion. We have here,
I. The model of this new altar, taken from one at Damascus, by the king himself, Kg2 16:10. The king of Assyria having taken Damascus, thither Ahaz went, to congratulate him on his success, to return him thanks for the kindness he had done him by this expedition, and, as his servant and son, to receive his commands. Had he been faithful to his God, he would not have needed to crouch thus meanly to a foreign power. At Damascus, either while viewing the rarities of the place, or rather while joining with them in their devotions (for, when he was there, he thought it no harm to do as they did), he saw an altar that pleased his fancy extremely, not such a plain old-fashioned one as that which he had been trained up in attendance upon at Jerusalem, but curiously carved, it is likely, and adorned with image-work; there were many pretty things about it which he thought significant, surprising, very charming, and calculated to excite his devotion. Solomon had but a dull fancy, he thought, compared with the ingenious artist that made this altar. Nothing will serve him but he must have an altar just like this: a pattern of it must be taken immediately; he cannot stay till he returns himself, but sends it before him in all haste, with orders to Urijah the priest to get one made exactly according to this model and have it ready against he came home. The pattern God showed to Moses in the mount or to David by the Spirit was not comparable to this pattern sent from Damascus. The hearts of idolaters walked after their eyes, which are therefore said to go a whoring after their idols; but the true worshippers worship the true God by faith.
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II. The making of it by Urijah the priests, Kg2 16:11. This Urijah, it is likely, was the chief priest who at this time presided in the temple-service. To him Ahaz sent an intimation of his mind (for we read not of any express orders he gave him), to get an altar made by this pattern. And, without any dispute or objection, he put it in hand immediately, being perhaps as fond of it as the king was, at least being very willing to humour the king and desirous to curry favour with him. Perhaps he might have this excuse for gratifying the king herein, that, by this means, he might keep him to the temple at Jerusalem and prevent his totally deserting it for the high places and the groves. "Let us oblige him in this," thinks Urijah, "and then he will bring all his sacrifices to us; for by this craft we get our living." But, whatever pretence he had, it was a most base wicked thing for him that was a priest, a chief priest, to make this altar, in compliance with an idolatrous prince, for hereby, 1. He prostituted his authority and profaned the crown of his priesthood, making himself a servant to the lusts of men. There is not a greater disgrace to the ministry than obsequiousness to such wicked commands as this was. 2. He betrayed his trust. As priest, he was bound to maintain and defend God's institutions, and to oppose and witness against all innovations; and, for him to assist and serve the king in setting up an altar to confront the altar which by divine appointment he was consecrated to minister at, was such a piece of treachery and perfidiousness as may justly render him infamous to all posterity. Had he only connived at the doing of it, - had he been frightened into it by menaces, - had he endeavoured to dissuade the king from it, or but delayed the doing of it till he came home, that he might first talk with him about it, - it would not have been so bad; but so willingly to walk after his commandment, as if he were glad of the opportunity to oblige him, was such an affront to the God he served as was utterly inexcusable.
III. The dedicating of it. Urijah, perceiving that the king's heart was much upon it, took care to have it ready against he came down, and set it near the brazen altar, but somewhat lower and further from the door of the temple. The king was exceedingly pleased with it, approached it with all possible veneration, and offered thereon his burnt-offering, etc., Kg2 16:12, Kg2 16:13. His sacrifices were not offered to the God of Israel, but to the gods of Damascus (as we find Ch2 28:23), and, when he borrowed the Syrians' altar, no marvel that he borrowed their gods. Naaman, the Syrian, embraced the God of Israel when he got earth from the land of Israel to make an altar of.
IV. The removal of God's altar, to make room for it. Urijah was so modest that he put this altar at the lower end of the court, and left God's altar in its place, between this and the house of the Lord, Kg2 16:14. But that would not satisfy Ahaz; he removed God's altar to an obscure corner in the north side of the court, and put his own before the sanctuary, in the place of it. He thinks his new altar is much more stately, and much more sightly, and disgraces that; and therefore "let that be laid aside as a vessel in which there is no pleasure." His superstitious invention, at first, jostled with God's sacred institution, but at length jostled it out. Note, Those will soon come to make nothing of God that will not be content to make him their all. Ahaz durst not (perhaps for fear of the people) quite demolish the brazen altar and knock it to pieces; but, while he ordered all the sacrifices to be offered upon this new altar (Kg2 16:15), The brazen altar (says he) shall be for me to enquire by. Having thrust it out from the use for which it was instituted, which was to sanctify the gifts offered upon it, he pretends to advance it above its institution, which it is common for superstitious people to do. The altar was never designed for an oracle, yet Ahaz will have it for that use. The Romish church seemingly magnifies Christ's sacraments, yet wretchedly corrupts them. But some give another sense of Ahaz's purpose: "As for the brazen altar, I will consider what to do with it, and give order about it." The Jews say that, afterwards, of the brass of it he made that famous dial which was called the dial of Ahaz, Kg2 20:11. The base compliance of the poor-spirited priest with the presumptuous usurpations of an ill-spirited king is again taken notice of (Kg2 16:16): Urijah the priest did according to all that king Ahaz commanded. Miserable is the case of great men when those that should reprove them for their sins strengthen and serve them in their sins.
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 On vv7–10 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was…
And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord,.... Which Uzziah and Jotham had put there; for all that was found there in the times of Amaziah was taken away by Jehoash king of Israel, Kg2 14:14.
and in the treasures of the king's house; whatever gold and silver he had of his own:
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and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria; to obtain his help and assistance.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v7 Sent messengers, &c. - But was it because there…
Sent messengers, &c. - But was it because there was no God in Israel, that he sent to the Assyrian for help? The sin itself was its own punishment; for tho' it served his present turn, yet he made but an ill bargain, seeing he not only impoverished himself, but enslaved both himself and his people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 10 Verse 7. I am thy servant and thy son]…
Verse 7. I am thy servant and thy son] I will obey thee in all, and become tributary to thee; only help me against Syria and Israel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7–10 2Ki 16:7. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser —…
2Ki 16:7. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser — Having forsaken God, he had neither courage nor strength to make head against his enemies, and therefore made his court to the king of Assyria, and endeavoured to prevail on him to come to his relief. But was it because there was not a God in Israel that he sent to the Assyrian for help? The truth is, he could not with any confidence ask help of God, being conscious he had abandoned his worship, and in the grossest manner violated his laws. Observe, reader, they whose hearts condemn them will go any whither for help, in a day of distress, rather than to God. Saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me — I yield myself to thee as thy vassal, to serve and obey thee, and pay thee tribute, upon condition that thou wilt assist me against my enemies. Had he thus humbled himself to God, and implored his favour, he might have been delivered upon easier terms, might have saved his money, and needed only to have parted with his sins. Out of the hand of the king of Syria, &c. — For though they were now gone from Jerusalem, yet he justly concluded they would return again, and, from time to time, molest and vex him.
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 On vv7–10 Ahaz was threatened on all sides, on the north…
Ahaz was threatened on all sides, on the north by Rezin and Pekah; on the southeast by Edom 2Ch 28:17; and on the southwest by the Philistines 2Ch 28:18. To these external dangers was added the still greater peril of disaffection at home. A large party in Judah was “weary” of the house of David Isa 7:13, ready to join the confederacy Isa 8:6, Isa 8:12, and to accept for king “the son of Tabeal.” Ahaz saw no hope of safety unless he could obtain a powerful protector; and, Egypt being particularly weak at this time, he turned to Assyria.
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 vv7, 9, 10 Son, vassal, or under thy protection. (Calmet) --- Save…
Son, vassal, or under thy protection. (Calmet) --- Save me. Achaz sinned by this placing his confidence in man, after the prophet had given him such assurance from the Lord. (Menochius) --- He has soon reason to repent of having brought this proud ally into his dominions, as he proved a great scourge; (2 Paralipomenon xxviii. 20.) no less than the Saxons did to the ancient Britons.
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 On vv7, 10 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser--In spite of the…
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser--In spite of the assurance given him by Isaiah by two signs, the one immediate, the other remote (Isa 7:14; Isa 8:4), that the confederate kings would not prevail against him, Ahaz sought aid from the Assyrian monarch, to purchase which he sent the treasures of the palace and temple. Tiglath-pileser marched against Damascus, slew Rezin the king, and carried the people of Damascus into captivity to Kir, which is thought to have been the city Karine (now Kerend), in Media.
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 On vv7–10 7. Ahaz sent… to Tiglath-pileser — He placed no…
7. Ahaz sent… to Tiglath-pileser — He placed no strong reliance on the word of the Lord by Isaiah that Rezin and Pekah were only like two smoking firebrands that would soon burn out and be harmless. He was probably led to apply to the Assyrian monarch because he had already greatly injured Israel. See note on 2Ki_15:29.
Thy servant and thy son — An acknowledgment of Judah’s dependency on Assyria. Compare note on 2Ki_14:5.
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 On vv7–10 7. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of…
7. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria] According to 2 Chron. (2Ch_28:17-18) it was not only by Rezin of Damascus and Pekah of Israel that Ahaz was straitened when he sent for help to Assyria. ‘The Edomites had again come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low countries, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh and Ajalon with Gederoth, and Socho with the villages thereof, and Timnah likewise and Gimzo, and they dwelt there.’ So that on north and south alike Ahaz was sorely beset. ‘For the Lord brought Judah low, because of Ahaz, for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord’.
I am thy servant and thy son] Ahaz, in return for the help he seeks, offers to make himself the vassal of Assyria. With the name ‘son’, as used in such an address, may be compared the ‘brother’ which Ahab uses of the conquered Benhadad (1Ki_20:32). Ahaz in his petition naturally only mentions those enemies on the north upon whom Tiglath-pileser could most readily fall. Perhaps he felt that, if relieved from them, he could dispose of the Edomites and Philistines by his own power.
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 vv7–10 (7) So Ahaz sent messengers.—See Notes on 2Ch_28:16; 2Ch_28:20.
(7) So Ahaz sent messengers.—See Notes on 2Ch_28:16; 2Ch_28:20.
Which rise up against me.—Or, which are assailing me. “The vain confidence of the rulers of Judah, described by Isaiah in his first prophetic book, was rudely shaken by the progress of the war with Pekah and Rezin. Unreasoning confidence had given way to equally unreasoning panic. They saw only one way of escape—namely, to throw themselves upon the protection of Assyria.” (Robertson Smith.)
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 vv7–10 Vers. 7-9. Expedition of Tiglath-pileser against Pekah and Rezin.…
Vers. 7-9. Expedition of Tiglath-pileser against Pekah and Rezin. In the extremity of his danger, when the confederacy had declared itself, or perhaps later, when he had suffered terrible defeats, and was about. to be besieged in his capital, (2Ch_28:5, 2Ch_28:6) Ahaz invoked the aid of Tiglath-pileser, sent him all the treasure on which he could lay his hands (ver. 8), offered to place himself and his kingdom under the Assyrian monarch"s suzerainty, and entreated him to come and "save him out of the hands" of his enemies (ver. 7). Humanly speaking, he might be justified. He had not called in one foreign power until Pekah had called in another. There was no other prospect (again humanly speaking) of escape. But, had he accepted the offers of Isa_7:4-16, and relied wholly on Jehovah, his position would have been far better. However, he was unable to see this; he made his application; and Tiglath-pileser "came up," and utterly crushed the Syro-Israelite confederacy (ver. 9).
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser King of Assyria, saying. This appeal to man rather than to God, this trust in "an arm of flesh," was exactly what Isaiah had been endeavoring to prevent, what he viewed as unfaithfulness, and as inevitably drawing down God"s wrath both upon king and kingdom. Ahaz was young, was weak, and had no doubt a large body of advisers, who considered the prophet to be a fanatic, who had no belief in supernatural aid, and who thought that in any emergency recourse was to be had to the measures which human prudence and human policy dictated. The aid of Tiglath-pileser seemed to them, under the circumstances, the only thing that could save them; and they persuaded the weak prince to adopt their views. I am thy servant and thy son. The offer of submission was unmistakable. "Servant," in the language of the time, meant "slave." Complete subjection, enrollment among Assyria"s feudatories, the entire loss of independence, was well understood to be the price that had to be paid for Assyria"s protection. Ahaz and his worldly advisers were prepared to pay it. They surrendered themselves, body and soul, into the hands of the great world-power of the period. Come up, and save me out of the hand of the King of Syria, and out of the hand of the King of Israel, which rise up against me. Syria is put forward as at once the more formidable of the two foes, and the one most open to Assyrian attack. Already Damascus had been more than once menaced by Assyrian armies ("Eponym Canon," pp. 113, 115, 116), while the kingdom of Samaria had only suffered at her extremities. (2Ki_15:29) Samaria could not well be approached excepting through Syria, and after Syria"s downfall.
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 v10 And King Ahaz went to Damascus . . .…
2Ki_16:10-15
And King Ahaz went to Damascus . . . and saw an altar.
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The cosmopolitan in religion
This is an incident familiar to all Bible students. You know that King Ahaz, and it is saying a great deal, was about the most foolish and weak king that ever sat upon the throne of Judah. After the time of Solomon the kingdom was threatened by the neighbouring kingdom of Israel, which had made a league with the King of Syria, whose centre was in Damascus. They had already besieged Jerusalem ineffectually. It was the time when Isaiah the prophet was carrying on his ministry in the holy city. He advised this weak and foolish young man to have no fear whatever of the two powers that were leagued against him, He described them in that uncomplimentary phrase of two smoking stumps of firebrands--what you would describe as spent forces--and advised the young king to be quiet, and trust in God. But trust in God was not original or clever enough for Ahaz. He was one of the men who thought that you might trust in God when you had exhausted every other resource. So, instead of trusting in God, he proceeded to do the very opposite thing--to strip the temple of Jehovah of its vessels of gold and silver, to strip its walls of the platings of gold, and to send this gold, with some treasures from his own house, as a present to Tiglath-pileser, the King of Assyria--the Roman Empire of that day, threatening and menacing every other power--and he said: I am thy son and thy servant; come and save me out of the hands of the King of Israel and the King of Syria. And the device succeeded; the glittering gold secured the strong arm of the Assyrian king. Tiglath-pileser conquered Syria, led away the king of it captive, established some sort of a seat at Damascus; and Ahaz went up to visit him, and while there turned things over in his own mind, and, thinking that religion was very useful to a politician, he came across a heathen altar--an elaborate and aesthetic altar--and it occurred to him that it would be another original thing to enlarge the original scope of the temple at Jerusalem, and to bring something of an ornate character into its service, by erecting there an altar of the exact pattern of the thing he had seen at Damascus. Having unfortunately a creature who was supple and obedient, in Urijah the priest--the very opposite of Isaiah the prophet--having sent an exact pattern of the altar by special messenger to Jerusalem, his assiduous and time-serving priest had it all ready by the time of his return. It was put in the centre of the sanctuary, and now said King Ahaz to his supple and accommodating religious functionary, I am not going to desert the old altar, it is to be kept on the premises, it is to be moved a little to the north; the great altar is to take the central position, the altar with the heathen embellishments upon it, with heathen and corrupt associations connected with it, is to have the centre; but I am not going over to heathenism--God forbid!--I have a very tender place in my heart for the old altar, and in the day when trouble comes, and when perhaps this brilliant experiment in religion has failed, in the day when darkness falls, the old altar will do for me to inquire by. He did not know that he was mocking God when he did that.
1. Have you met this man Ahaz? I have seen him. He is a type, and the type is not extinct. He is like a man who has gone away from the Church that gave him all that he was ever worth, and he says that he has not gone away from it. The old altar is not put away, it is only in practice that he has gone over to another Church--for family reasons, and for aesthetic considerations. I think you have met the man, and know the type. The cosmopolitan in matters of religion, the man who comes to you and raves about the wonders of Buddhism; and he asks you if you have read the Vedas and the Zendavesta, and if you are acquainted with Confucian philosophy, and if you know that there is really a great deal of truth and merit in heathen religion. Now nobody would deny that this man had made some sort of a discovery, as Ahaz did, but nobody sensible has ever thought of denying that there is a certain element of truth in heathen religions. God has not left Himself without witness; He has not been doing nothing in the great heathen countries through all the ages; He has spoken here and there; and there may be enough truth in a system to hold it together for centuries. But you may be sure that the man who talks in this way has not on the spot considered the product of heathen religion, and when he talks of the picturesqueness of many heathen customs, he has forgotten the degradation and the uncleanness and the shameful superstition and the unutterable cruelty and lies that are connected with the religions that he praises. Either the Christian religion was designed and destined to supersede and supplant all others, or it was not, and we must make up our minds. Study comparative religions if you will, but the man who studies the Christian religion, and digs deeply into it, contents, will find a glory that takes to itself every scattered ray of glory that is in every other religion, and repels all that is base and degrading and unworthy. If the Christian religion is not intended to supersede and supplant all others, if the faiths of the world were sufficient by themselves to save the world, even the faith of Judah, with its doctrine of one righteous and holy God, then the Incarnation was a superfluity, and the cross and bitter passion of our Lord were altogether unnecessary, The cosmopolitan in religion does not dig deeply enough into the glory that excels, to see that it does excel all other light.
2. But I go on to speak, the next place, of this man as the type of a man who will do anything, right or wrong, in order to succeed. Why did he erect the Assyrian altar, or a pattern of it, in the temple at Jerusalem? Not because it was false, or because it was true; the man did not understand religion a bit; it was a kind of penny-in-the-slot business; them was magic in it; you did something, and something came out of it, and he knew nothing better than that. But he knew that this altar was the altar of a powerful nation, and that the men who worshipped at it were succeeding, and there is where we make the mistake to-day. We are worshipping success, right or wrong. Of course you want to succeed; it would be exceedingly foolish on my part, and useless to suggest to any man before me that he should not desire passionately the success of anything with which he is connected. There is a danger of worshipping success in the Christian Church, of sacrificing inward things for numbers and wealth in the character of the Church. Naturally, I want my business to succeed, but I want to know how the dividends are earned. That is a question that every Christian man should ask. Naturally I want my party to succeed, but the party had better journey in the wilderness for fifty years than sacrifice any of its sincerity and its views for the sake of office. I would say in all earnestness that my ambition to succeed, and yours, must in all things be strictly subordinated to our ambition and purpose to do the will of God everywhere, and when we stand upon the threshold of an enterprise we must not admit anything into it, if we know it, that will clash with the will of God, and that will not be in accordance with our conscience. What is religion? What do some people think it to be? Is it a series of ecclesiastical and ceremonial operations, which God will accept as an equivalent or a substitute for a mans heart obedience? Is it an endeavour to get the Most High over to your side, right or wrong? Is it not a feeling after God, and finding Him, and then submitting the whole life, with all its possibilities of success or failure to the absolute and undisputed authority, and will of God?
3. I think I can see a little bit of a parable in this sad history. There is a temple of God in the heart of every man here to-day which should be kept inviolate for Him, and the golden vessels in it are the convictions that God has created in your heart; and you must say, in the sight of God, I will not sacrifice one of these to ward off any impending danger, to buy over any strong thing to my side; here I stand, I can no other; where God has placed me, whatever comes. I know what it means, I have graduated in business, and I know it--how you are tempted to stretch a point here and there in the presence of new combinations, in the presence of new competition and anti-Christian customs. There is a crisis coming on, and they tell you that if you will not bribe people and drink with people, and do this, that, and the other, you will not succeed; and you say, I know it is abominable. Will you whittle away the abominableness of it until you make it fit for you to do it? Or will you say, I can fail, but I cant stifle my conscience, and I cannot stifle the voice of God in my soul, I cannot do evil that good may come. Whenever you are tempted to do it, remember the apostles words about the people who do it--it is a strong word, not a bit too strong--whose damnation is just.
4. This is a man who, like many people to-day, tries to do an impossible thing--to serve two masters--and he fails. He is going to keep in touch with the true religion, and he is going to give the central place in life to the religion that has only a grain of truth in it at best. He did not want to cut himself adrift from the old religion; he had a great respect for it, and he wanted to keep it on the premises, just as a man keeps a Bible on the premises. He is going to resort to it in time of trouble; it is as great a comfort to him as it is for him to know that there is a doctor somewhere in the vicinity if illness should come. It would be too shocking to give up religion. Yes, but you can relegate religion to the north side of the altar, and give it a subordinate place, or you think you can, and you fail to see that you are mocking it. A great many people say, I like religion all very well in its place. Where is the place of religion? Some people think the proper place for religion is in the pew, and it is to be left there with the hymn-book on Sundays, and returned to when Sunday comes back again. We do not understand the heart of religion until we understand that there is no place for religion in a mans life unless it has the first place, because the Lord Jesus Christ will not be one in a Pantheon of many deities; it must be all or nothing. Not the main altar for business and pleasure and fame, and a little comer on the north side for Jesus Christ; but the supreme altar for Him, and He must govern your pleasures and your business. Until we can say, For me to live is Christ, we have not come to the heart of the Christian life. (C. Brown.)
The altar to inquire by
I call special attention to the last words--and the brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by. Ahaz directed first of all that his own offerings should be offered upon this new altar. He then commanded that the offerings of the people, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as special offerings, should be offered upon it. Nor did Ahaz stop here; for this is an illustration of the fact that when we begin to interfere with Gods plan, and to introduce into the divine economy of things our own improvements, we are only beginning a course of action which will become more daring and irreverent as time passes by.
1. Now I want you to observe how when once a man dares to interfere with Divine ordinances, there is no telling where such a course will end. The history of retrogression in this direction is a very striking one. Even Ahaz would not have dared to do all he did at once; but having once erected a heathen altar in the sanctuary of the God of Israel, the other things naturally followed. The first stop was the one which prepared the way for every other step. Ahaz had not been in sympathy with the worship of God from his earliest days. He had entered more and more into alliance with heathen powers. He had become a diplomatist in everything; even his religion had become a thing of diplomacy. The result was that the great brazen altar upon which the nation had offered its sacrifices for centuries was at length removed by him out of the way, and an altar of his own making was made to take its place. But even now, what did Ahaz say with regard to the old altar? Should it be removed right out of the temple? No, the man was diplomatic still. The brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by. Now this word 18 ambiguous, as ambiguous in the Hebrew as it is in the English.
(1) Ahaz may have meant to say, Put that brasen altar on one side for the time being; I will think about it, and see what I shall do with it; I will not yet put it outside altogether. I will consider the matter, and see what can be done. Or, what I think is far more probable:
(2) Ahaz, while he was prepared to offer all the sacrifices upon his own altar only, was not prepared to lose sight of the old altar, but intended to consult it whenever he got into difficulty. He thus practically said, Put this old altar on one side, so that I may inquire by it when I find it necessary to do so. Now that is a very striking course to take, and yet not very exceptional in one sense.
2. This conduct on the part of Ahaz in cautiously postponing the final decision what he would do with the altar he readily thrust aside, exactly illustrates what some men and women have done many a time. There are some here to-night who remember their earliest days with strange and conflicting feelings. Their earliest recollections ought to be to them exceedingly sacred. They remember the hallowing influences which surrounded them in their early homes, when simple piety reigned in that family. But possibly some of you have since then gone out into the world, and have done what Ahaz did. You have formed friendships with other men than those with whom your father would have fraternised; but then you have known more of life, as you say, and you have prospered more than your father ever did. As men of the world you laugh at the simplicities of your ancestors, and smile at the little they knew of the competitions of life, and how unequal they would be for the fight of to-day. Your father, you freely admit, was a good man. There can be no doubt about that; no one ever doubted his sincerity, his faith, for he was so childlike and simple; but, poor man, so you think, he did not know as much as you do; and then, after all, good as he was, hew as very narrow and bigoted in his views. On the contrary, you have learned, you think, to realise that there is good in everything. You favour all that because you say it is expansive, and shows broad thought and profound sympathies; and just as Ahaz never thought for a moment that he was worshipping other gods by his innovation, so you, with your broad charity and expansive views, are bringing into the religion of Jesus Christ what He never ordained, and after all think that the Spirit which inspired the apostles is going on inspiring you, but that very much more is taught you in this enlightened age than was ever taught them. Meanwhile, you have your cultured view of the Cross. You will not thrust it away as a useless thing, but you readily place it on one side. It is no longer the central fact of the Gospel. Christ died for an example; He revealed His unselfishness. Yes, the old altar must be put aside somewhere, somewhere on the north or the cold side, and you will erect your altar from Damascus where the old altar used to be. But in all this you do not want to commit yourselves finally. The thoughtful man, so you think, is the man who always delays decision. Ahaz thought so too, if we accept the first possible rendering of the words, for he practically said, The brasen altar shall be for me to think about. I will see where I will finally put it. I am not quite sure that even now I have put it in its right place. So you say, I do not think that even now the sacrifice of Christ and the story of Calvary occupy just the proper niche. They come in somewhere; but where, you think it very difficult to decide. Meanwhile, to make sure, you will thrust it aside and yet keep it within view; by and by you may see your way to have it right outside the temple.
3. Perhaps you have done something else. It has not been to you a question of opinion. You do not belong to these would-be clever and critical people, but still you are a practical man of the world. You cannot enter into the meaning of what they call higher criticism: you know nothing about it save that you have seen a flippant leader in the daily press; and you are not concerned about the discussion: you are business men, and cannot give time to all that. The Bible may be all that your dear old father thought it was, for all that you know; but then the world has its claims, you say, and you find that it will not do in the interests of your trade or your profession to have the old Cross placed too prominently, and the principles of the Cross observed too faithfully in your daily life, and so you must thrust that a little aside and have another altar that will be more respectable--one of the nondescript altars of Damascus. It was just so with Ahaz. He had to think of the King of Assyria. Suppose the King of Assyria paid him a visit: how very pained he would be to find there was no altar there like his own; or, even if there was, that there was another altar between it and the holy place, and thus precedence was given to that other altar! Thus Ahaz had to consider matters as a practical man. He was a man full of diplomatic wisdom. He knew that as long as he could keep in with the King of Assyria things would probably be right. Why, then, should he sacrifice all his prospects just for the sake of keeping that old altar in its right place? Thus, off it had to go to the northern side.
4. But you tell me you cannot be a Christian and get on. Well, what then? You reply that you must get on, that this is the highest necessity of living. Is it? If you cannot be a Christian and succeed, then let success go. Ah, but you reply that you must succeed. Very well, you follow just the track of Ahaz. You must get on, must you? To that end you must get into alliance with the world, and the spirit of the world, and ignore God and His altar. Face the fact. You go into life and come into contact with men who sacrifice principle upon the altar of gain in the profession or trade in which you are engaged. And you say, Other men do that, and I must do it in self-defence. I must build this new altar, I must burn incense, not to God always, but burn incense upon the altar of prosperity and worldly advancement. It pays others exceedingly well to do this, and it should pay me. This was precisely what Ahaz said with regard to the kings of Syria (2Ch_28:23)--Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. I know that all this description may seem to many of you to be exaggerated. Those of us who know something of the spiritual condition of men and women know that there is nothing more common than this. Think of it; look back over your conduct, and ask yourselves what you have done that is distinctly a service to the Saviour. What have you ever said or done in your life that would mark you out as a follower of Jesus Christ? How many a man thinks of coming by and by to inquire by that altar upon which he has offered no sacrifice! What is the altar upon which you offer your sacrifices? If it is the altar of worldly success; then require of it. Be true to your convictions and to your life. Do not be mean, and only turn your back upon worldly pleasure when it has turned its back upon you. Do not look to the world as long as the world can further your purposes, always retaining a thought of God as a convenience for a dark day or a troublous hour. That is the meanest and most degrading motive that can take possession of the human heart. (D. Davies.)
Using God for emergencies
There is a blunt frankness about the transaction, almost amounting to facetiousness, that interests one. The cool way in which the old heathen altar is put in the front of the temple, while the brasen altar is ordered on one side, yet not put out of sight, but reserved for special exigencies, when the Damascus altar will not do, is very striking. Some men, having determined to have the Assyrian altar in the place of Jehovahs, would have commanded its destruction as a thing whose use was past, and which it were well to put out of sight. Not so Ahaz. He did not consider its use all gone. There might come a time--very probably there would come a time--when the brasen altar would be of essential service. Jehovah had many a time, through His prophets, come to the help of His people, and had instructed them through His priests, and it were a wise and good thing to keep the altar where, when occasion might demand it, he could go and get the direction and the help that might not be obtained from the Damascus altars service. It was a wise forecast, but a very base and wicked one,--so base and wicked that such a man even as Ahaz was ought to have been ashamed of it. (W. Aikman, D. D.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v10 Ahaz Profanes the Temple
Ahaz Profanes the Temple
v. 10. And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, to express his appreciation of the assistance which had been rendered him and his people, and saw an altar that was at Damascus, which struck his fancy. And King Ahaz sent to Urijah, the priest, the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof, he gave a description of its shape, sent a model with the full plans and specifications, including those for the decorations on the altar.
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v. 11. And Urijah, the priest, far from resenting this unwarranted action of the king, built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, an exact counterpart of the heathen altar; so Urijah, the priest, made it against King Ahaz came from Damascus, he had it ready at the return of the king.
v. 12. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar. And the king approached to the altar and offered thereon, evidently in person and unrebuked by any priest.
v. 13. And he burned his burnt offering and his meat-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace-offerings upon the altar, all this being really a usurpation of rights which did not belong to him, but which he presumed upon in order to express to his own gods his gratitude for his safe return.
v. 14. And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the Lord, the altar of burnt offering, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar, that is, the new altar, and the house of the Lord, the Sanctuary proper, and put it on the north side of the altar, in a location of minor importance, so that the new altar was, if anything, superior to the old one.
v. 15. And King Ahaz commanded Urijah, the priest, saying, Upon the great altar, the new altar, which was now the principal one, burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat-offering, the corresponding sacrifice being understood in every case, Exo 29:38-42; Num 28:3-8; Num 7:87; Num 15:2-12, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat-offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offerings, and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice, the new altar was to be used exclusively for all these purposes. And the brazen altar shall be for me to enquire by, concerning this he wanted to find out, he reserved his final decision about this altar for some future time.
v. 16. Thus did Urijah, the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded; he readily agreed to these unwarranted changes and thus became guilty with the king.
v. 17. And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, those which held the water receptacles, 1Ki 7:27-37, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, 1Ki 7:23-25, and put it upon a pavement of stones, on a special foundation of stone, probably a covered platform. All this was probably done to remove everything costly, lest the king of Assyria demand them for himself.
v. 18. And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, evidently a covered hall in the court of the Temple, set apart for the king when he visited the Sanctuary, and the king’s entry without, the ascent to the Temple mentioned 1Ki 10:5, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria, all this being done lest the mighty ruler’s cupidity be aroused.
v. 19. 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?
v. 20. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings, 2Ch 28:27; and Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his stead. Woe unto every person who is so carried away with his godlessness that he is beyond warning and restraint! Self-hardening is followed by obduration on the part of God, and the end is everlasting death.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 10 In 2 Kings 15:19 this man was called "Pul."…
Tiglath-Pileser
In 2 Kings 15:19 this man was called "Pul." See how you translated his name in 2 Kings 15:29. (See: How to Translate Names)
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I am your servant and your son
Being a servant and a son represents submitting to someone's authority. AT: "I will obey you as if I were your servant or your son" (See: Metaphor)
from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel
The hand is a metonym that represents power. AT: "from the power of the king of Aram and from the power of the king of Israel" (See: Metonymy)
who have attacked me
The kings attacking Ahaz represent the armies of those kings attacking Ahaz and his people. AT: "who have attacked me with their armies" or "whose armies have attacked me" (See: Synecdoche)
the king of Assyria went up against Damascus
The word "king" represents the king and his army. Also, Damascus represents the people who live there. AT: "the king of Assyria and his army attacked the people of Damascus" (See: Synecdoche and Metonymy)
carried off its people as prisoners to Kir
Carrying off the people represents forcing them to go away. AT: "made the people his prisoners and forced them to go to Kir" (See: Metaphor)
Kir
Possible meanings are 1) this is the name of a city or 2) this word means "city" and refers to the capital city of Assyria. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
send
messenger
Assyria
servant
son
save
hand
silver
gold
house of God
palace
gift
Damascus
prison
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 vv7, 9, 10 16:7-9 Rather than trusting in God’s provision (Isa 7:7-16),…
16:7-9 Rather than trusting in God’s provision (Isa 7:7-16), Ahaz petitioned Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria to rescue him from his enemies. Tiglath-pileser was successful, and his victory brought about the death of Rezin, the capture of Damascus, and the deportation of its citizens (732 BC). It also contributed to unseating Pekah as king of Israel in the same year (2 Kgs 15:29-30). The cost of the rescue was great, however; Ahaz paid a heavy tribute to Tiglath-pileser, and the Assyrian intervention reduced Judah to vassal status.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.