2 Kings 16:12 kjv
And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
2 Kings 16:12 nkjv
And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king approached the altar and made offerings on it.
2 Kings 16:12 niv
When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
2 Kings 16:12 esv
And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it
2 Kings 16:12 nlt
When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it.
2 Kings 16 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 12:2-4 | "You must utterly destroy all the places... on the high mountains..." | Destroying pagan altars; exclusivity of worship. |
| Ex 20:3-5 | "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself..." | Prohibition of idolatry and images. |
| Ex 25:9 | "Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle..." | God prescribed the pattern of His worship place. |
| Ex 27:1 | "You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long..." | God's specific design for the altar. |
| 2 Kgs 16:3 | "But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel... even made his son pass..." | Ahaz's initial wickedness and human sacrifice. |
| 2 Kgs 16:10-16 | "And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser... King Ahaz sent..." | Ahaz's full instructions to Uriah the priest. |
| 2 Chr 28:1-4 | "Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign... and he did not do..." | Parallel account of Ahaz's wickedness. |
| 2 Chr 28:22-25 | "In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord..." | Ahaz's increased idolatry despite affliction. |
| 1 Kgs 12:32-33 | "Jeroboam also built altars on the high places..." | Other kings establishing alternative worship. |
| Jer 7:9-11 | "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery... and come and stand before me..." | Denunciation of defiling God's house through syncretism. |
| Ezek 8:3-16 | "Then he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head..." | Prophetic vision of idolatry in the Temple. |
| Rom 1:21-23 | "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks..." | Humanity's rejection of God for idols. |
| Rom 1:25 | "because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served..." | Worshiping created things rather than the Creator. |
| Deut 6:14 | "You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you." | Warning against adopting foreign gods. |
| 1 Kgs 11:7-8 | "Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh... for all his foreign wives..." | Solomon's slide into idolatry due to foreign influence. |
| Isa 1:10-15 | "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!... What to me is the multitude..." | Isaiah's condemnation of empty rituals and unrighteousness. |
| Lev 10:1-2 | "Now Nadab and Abihu... offered unauthorized fire before the Lord..." | Judgment for unauthorized worship/sacrifices. |
| 2 Chr 26:16-20 | "But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction... He was leprous..." | King Uzziah's presumption in performing priestly duty. |
| 2 Kgs 17:7-12 | "And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord..." | Reason for Israel's exile: following foreign customs. |
| Heb 10:1-10 | "For since the law has but a shadow... Christ came to do your will, O God." | Contrast with true, perfect sacrifice of Christ. |
2 Kings 16 verses
2 Kings 16 12 Meaning
This verse marks a critical turning point in King Ahaz's reign, depicting his direct participation in establishing idolatrous worship. Upon returning to Jerusalem from his visit to Damascus, he meticulously observed and was inspired by a pagan altar. His subsequent action of approaching this foreign altar and offering sacrifices on it signified a profound act of apostasy, importing alien religious practices directly into the kingdom of Judah and into the worship practices overseen by the Jerusalem Temple. This was a deliberate rejection of Yahweh's exclusive worship commanded by the covenant.
2 Kings 16 12 Context
2 Kings chapter 16 describes the wicked reign of King Ahaz of Judah. Unlike his righteous father Jotham, Ahaz actively embraced idolatry and followed the ways of the kings of Israel, even offering his son as a burnt offering, an abhorrent Canaanite practice. Judah was under military threat from the combined forces of Aram (Syria) and Israel. To counter this threat, Ahaz chose to seek assistance from Tiglath-pileser III, the powerful king of Assyria, rather than trusting in the Lord as urged by the prophet Isaiah. This decision led to Ahaz traveling to Damascus, the capital of Aram, to meet the Assyrian king and secure his aid. While in Damascus, Ahaz observed a grand altar and, instead of upholding Yahweh's covenant and prescribed worship, became fascinated by its design. This verse directly follows his return, detailing his personal, sacrilegious action inspired by this foreign sight, marking his complete embrace of pagan practices over the worship of the one true God. His actions laid the groundwork for extensive religious corruption within Judah.
2 Kings 16 12 Word analysis
- And when the king: "King" (Heb. מֶלֶךְ, melekh) specifically refers to Ahaz. The emphasis highlights his regal authority, which he then abuses to promote apostasy rather than lead his people in righteousness. This demonstrates a complete dereliction of his duty as Judah's divinely appointed ruler.
- was come from Damascus: "Was come" (Heb. בֹּא, bo) signifies his return, bringing with him the pagan inspiration from his alliance meeting in Damascus. Damascus, the capital of Aram, represented a significant non-Yahwistic culture and religious center. His physical return symbolized his spiritual defection, as he imported the very practices of nations God commanded Israel to be separate from.
- the king saw the altar: "Saw" (Heb. רָאָה, ra'ah) implies more than a casual glance; it suggests careful observation, perhaps admiration, with an intent to replicate or incorporate. "The altar" (Heb. הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, hammizbeach) refers to a specific non-Israelite altar he encountered in Damascus, likely one dedicated to Assyrian deities. This altar stood in stark contrast to the altar divinely prescribed for Yahweh's worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. Ahaz’s seeing becomes a blueprint for sacrilege.
- and the king approached to the altar: "Approached" (Heb. קָרַב, qarav) typically refers to drawing near, often in a religious or ritualistic sense, like approaching God. Here, it signifies Ahaz's personal engagement and initiation of sacrilege. As king, not priest, his direct involvement in cultic activities was a violation of priestly prerogative (cf. Uzziah's similar transgression in 2 Chr 26).
- and offered thereon: "Offered thereon" (Heb. וַיַּעַל עָלֶיהָ, wayya'al 'aleha, "caused to ascend upon it") means he performed sacrifices. This was the ultimate act of defilement. It directly contradicted Yahweh's commandments concerning the exclusive worship of Him on the divinely designated altar, and by the proper priesthood. Ahaz's direct sacrificial act further highlights his contempt for God's law and the legitimate priestly order.
- Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar": This phrase encapsulates Ahaz's pivotal transition from political alliance to religious apostasy. His physical journey from Damascus is immediately linked to his spiritual downfall, revealing how political expediency merged with idolatrous curiosity, culminating in the adoption of foreign religious practices. The repeated mention of "the king" emphasizes Ahaz's direct agency and responsibility in this national religious degradation.
- "the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon": This climactic phrase describes the tangible expression of Ahaz's wickedness. It is an act of direct participation, demonstrating his embrace of idolatry not just intellectually but physically. By personally offering sacrifices, Ahaz deliberately usurped priestly roles and ratified a pagan cult, setting a destructive precedent for his kingdom and symbolizing Judah's turning away from Yahweh.
2 Kings 16 12 Bonus section
Ahaz's actions in 2 Kings 16:12 can be seen as a fulfillment of warnings against following the ways of the nations that God had commanded Israel to drive out (Deut 12:2-4). His eagerness to adopt foreign religious architecture, specifically the altar, also showcases a profound spiritual blindness: he viewed worship spaces through an aesthetic and utilitarian lens, divorced from their sacred, divinely ordained purpose. The "pattern" of the altar, rather than being God-given, was now Assyrian-derived, an inverted fulfillment of Moses building the Tabernacle precisely to God's pattern (Ex 25:9). This set a dangerous precedent for future kings and ultimately contributed to the conditions that led to Judah's eventual exile, as highlighted by later prophetic judgments on apostasy.
2 Kings 16 12 Commentary
2 Kings 16:12 vividly portrays King Ahaz's decisive turn toward overt syncretism and idolatry. His journey to Damascus, undertaken for political alliance with Assyria, ironically became the catalyst for his most significant religious offense. Observing a non-Israelite altar, he wasn't just impressed; he was spiritually captivated to the point of active imitation. His immediate action upon return—approaching and offering sacrifices on this foreign-inspired altar—was a grave violation of God's covenant, which explicitly forbade foreign worship and insisted on exclusive devotion. This act, coming from the very leader of Judah, demonstrated a public and official rejection of Yahweh's specific instructions for worship and the sacred space of the Jerusalem Temple. Ahaz's deep-seated wickedness (as noted previously in 2 Kgs 16:3) found its public, culminating expression in this specific act, laying the groundwork for more extensive temple desecration and the corruption of Judah's spiritual life under his rule.