3. and burning incense in the Ben-hinnom Valley. He even burned his own sons alive, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
4. He also sacrificed and burned incense at the shrines on every hill and beneath every shady tree.
5. So the Lord his God handed him over to Aram’s king, who defeated him and carried off many prisoners, bringing them to Damascus. Ahaz was also handed over to Israel’s king, who defeated him with a severe beating.
6. In Judah, Pekah, Remaliah’s son, killed one hundred twenty thousand warriors in the course of a single day because they had abandoned the Lord, God of their ancestors.
7. An Ephraimite warrior named Zichri killed the king’s son Maaseiah, the palace administrator Azrikam, and Elkanah, the king’s second in command.
8. The Israelites took captive two hundred thousand women, boys, and girls from their Judean relatives and seized enormous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.
9. One of the Lord’s prophets named Oded lived in Samaria. When the army arrived there, he went to meet them and said, "Don’t you see that the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah and let you defeat them? But look what you’ve done! Your merciless slaughter of them stinks to high heaven!
10. And now you think you can enslave the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem? What about your own guilt before the Lord your God?
11. Listen to me! Send back the captives you took from your relatives, because the Lord is furious with you."
12. At this, some of the Ephraimite leaders—Johanan’s son Azariah, Meshillemoth’s son Berechiah, Shallum’s son Jehizkiah, and Hadlai’s son Amasa—confronted those returning from battle.
13. "Don’t bring the captives here," they told them. "Your plan will only add to our sin and guilt before the Lord. We’re already guilty enough, and great anger is already directed at Israel."
14. So the warriors released the captives and brought the loot before the officers and the whole assembly.
15. Then people named for this task took charge of the captives and dressed everyone who was naked with items taken from the loot. They gave them clothing, sandals, food and drink, and bandaged their wounds. Everyone who couldn’t walk they placed on donkeys, and they brought them to Jericho, Palm City, near their Judean relatives. Then they returned to Samaria.
16. At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king of Assyria.