2 Kings 16:3

Instead, he was as sinful as the kings of Israel had been. He even sacrificed his son as an offering to idols. That was worse than the disgusting things that the people who previously lived there had done, people whom Yahweh had expelled as the Israelis were advancing through the land.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.

In Context

2He was 20 years old when he became the king of Judah. He ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. He did not do things that pleased Yahweh his God, good things like his ancestor King David had done.

4Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense to honor Yahweh on the tops of many hills and under many [HYP] big trees, instead of in Jerusalem as Yahweh had commanded.

Read all of 2 Kings 16

Cross References

Leviticus 20:2“Tell the Israeli people, ‘ This is what Yahweh says: Any Israeli or any foreigner who is living in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to be an offering to the god Molech must be executed. The people of the town must kill him by throwing stones at him.

Deuteronomy 18:10You must not sacrifice any of your children by burning them on your altars. Do not practice ◄divination/using supernatural power to reveal what will happen in the future►. Do not do/practice ◄soothsaying/magic to find out what will happen in the future►. Do not ◄interpret omens/say that because of something that you have seen you know what will happen►. Do not practice sorcery/witchcraft. Do not practice ◄putting spells on people/saying things to cause bad things to happen to others►.

1 Kings 14:24Also, there were male prostitutes at these places of worship. The Israeli people did the same disgraceful things that had been done by the people whom Yahweh had expelled while the Israelis were advancing through the land.

1 Kings 21:25There was no man no man like Ahab who always did things that Yahweh considered to be evil. His wife Jezebel incited/urged him to do many of those things.

2 Kings 8:18His wife was the daughter of King Ahab. And like everyone in Ahab’s family, he continually did the evil things that the previous kings of Israel had done. He did things that Yahweh considered to be evil.

2 Kings 17:16The Israeli people disobeyed all of Yahweh’s commands. They made two metal calves to worship. They set up two poles to worship the goddess Asherah, and they worshiped the god Baal, and the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 16:2-5

The Reign of Ahaz. ( b. c. 726.) 1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord his God, like David his father. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study 2 Kings 16:3