Discovery Box2 Chronicles 28:1-8 
Context28:1 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, in contrast to his ancestor David. 2 28:2 He followed in the footsteps of 3 the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. 28:3 He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, 4 a horrible sin practiced by the nations 5 whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. 28:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
28:5 The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians 6 defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. 7 He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. 8 28:6 In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. 9 28:7 Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 28:8 The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it 10 back to Samaria. 11
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
3 tn Heb “he walked in the ways of.”
4 sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB “burnt his sons in the fire”; NASB “burned his sons in the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
5 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
6 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “and took captive from him a great captivity and brought [them] to Damascus.”
8 tn Heb “who struck him down with a great striking.”
9 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 25).
10 tn Heb “the loot.” The pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
11 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
