2 Kings 16:2-4

16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. ¹  He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David. ²  16:3 He followed in the footsteps of ³  the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, ⁴  a horrible sin practiced by the nations ⁵  whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 16:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

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¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the Lord his God, like David his father.”

³ tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”

⁴ sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.

⁵ tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”