2. Ahaz did the same things the kings of Israel had done. He made metal idols to worship Baal.
3. He burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and made his children pass through the fire. He did the same hateful sins as the nations had done whom the Lord had forced out of the land ahead of the Israelites.
4. Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the places where gods were worshiped, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5. So the Lord his God handed over Ahaz to the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated Ahaz and took many people of Judah as prisoners to Damascus.He also handed over Ahaz to Pekah king of Israel, and Pekah’s army killed many soldiers of Ahaz.
6. The army of Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand brave soldiers from Judah in one day. Pekah defeated them because they had left the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
7. Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed King Ahaz’s son Maaseiah. He also killed Azrikam, the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, who was second in command to the king.
8. The Israelite army captured two hundred thousand of their own relatives. They took women, sons and daughters, and many valuable things from Judah and carried them back to Samaria.
9. But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He met the Israelite army when it returned to Samaria and said to them, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, handed Judah over to you, because he was angry with those people. But God has seen the cruel way you killed them.
10. Now you plan to make the people of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves, but you also have sinned against the Lord your God.
11. Now listen to me. Send back your brothers and sisters whom you captured, because the Lord is very angry with you.”