2 Kings 16:10
New International Version
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction.

New Living Translation
King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail.

English Standard Version
When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details.

Berean Standard Bible
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.

King James Bible
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

New King James Version
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.

New American Standard Bible
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship.

NASB 1995
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship.

NASB 1977
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.

Amplified Bible
Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria, and saw the pagan altar which was at Damascus. Then King Ahaz sent a model of the altar to Urijah the priest along with a [detailed] pattern for all its construction.

Christian Standard Bible
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to Uriah the priest.

American Standard Version
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And King Akhaz went on to a meeting of TaglathPilasir King of Assyria to Darmsuq, and he saw an altar that was in Darmsuq, and King Akhaz sent to Uriah the Priest the form of the altar and its structure and all its work.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Thalgath-phellasar king of the Assyrians at Damascus; and he saw an altar at Damascus. And king Achaz sent to Urias the priest the pattern of the altar, and its proportions, and all its workmanship.

Contemporary English Version
Later, Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser. And while Ahaz was there, he saw an altar and sent a model of it back to Uriah the priest, along with the plans for building one.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Theglathphalasar king of the Assyrians, end when he had seen the altar of Damascus, king Achaz sent to Urias the priest a pattern of it, and its likeness according to all the work thereof.

English Revised Version
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria. He saw an altar there in Damascus. So King Ahaz sent the priest Urijah a model of the altar and a set of detailed plans.

Good News Translation
When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Emperor Tiglath Pileser, he saw the altar there and sent back to Uriah the priest an exact model of it, down to the smallest details.

International Standard Version
King Ahaz traveled to Damascus and met with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, where he observed the altar at Damascus. So King Ahaz sent a set of construction patterns of this altar to Uriah the priest.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

Literal Standard Version
And King Ahaz goes to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur [at] Damascus, and sees the altar that [is] in Damascus, and King Ahaz sends to Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar, and its pattern, according to all its work,

Majority Standard Bible
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.

New American Bible
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria. When he saw the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar and a detailed design of its construction.

NET Bible
When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design.

New Revised Standard Version
When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. King Ahaz sent to the priest Uriah a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details.

New Heart English Bible
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.

Webster's Bible Translation
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship of it.

World English Bible
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest a drawing of the altar and plans to build it.

Young's Literal Translation
And king Ahaz goeth to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur at Damascus, and seeth the altar that is in Damascus, and king Ahaz sendeth unto Urijah the priest the likeness of the altar, and its pattern, according to all its work,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Damascus Falls
10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction. 11And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it by the time King Ahaz had returned.…

Cross References
2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

2 Kings 16:11
And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it by the time King Ahaz had returned.

2 Kings 21:4
Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My Name."

Isaiah 8:2
And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses--Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah."

Ezekiel 16:28
Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.

Ezekiel 44:12
Because they ministered before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I swore with an uplifted hand concerning them that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity, declares the Lord GOD.


Treasury of Scripture

And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

saw an altar

Deuteronomy 12:30
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

2 Chronicles 28:23-25
For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel…

Jeremiah 10:2
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

the pattern

Exodus 24:4
And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 39:43
And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

1 Chronicles 28:11,12,19
Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, …

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Ahaz Altar Assyria Damascus Details Fashion Meet Pattern Pileser Priest Tiglath Tiglathpileser Urijah Workmanship
2 Kings 16
1. Ahaz's wicked reign
5. Ahaz, assailed by Rezin and Pekah, hires Tiglath-Pileser against them
10. Ahaz, sending a pattern of an altar from Damascus to Urijah,
12. diverts the bronze altar to his own devotions,
17. He raids the temple
19. Hezekiah succeeds him














(10) Ahaz went to Damascus, to meet Tiglath-pileser.--The great king appears to have held his court there after the capture of the city, and to have summoned the vassal princes of Palestine thither to do him homage in person before his departure. (See the Note on 2Kings 16:8.)

And saw an altar.--Rather, and he saw the altar, namely, that of the principal Temple. Upon the account which follows Prof. Robertson Smith well remarks that the frivolous character of Ahaz "was so-little capable of appreciating the dangers involved in his new obligations, that he returned to Jerusalem with his head full of the artistic and religious curiosities he had seen on his journey. In a national crisis of the first magnitude he found no more pressing concern than the erection of a new altar in the Temple on a pattern brought from Damascus. The sundial of Ahaz (2Kings 20:11), and an erection on the roof of the Temple, with altars apparently designed for the worship of the host of heaven (2Kings 23:12), were works equally characteristic of the trifling and superstitious virtuoso, who imagined that the introduction of a few foreign novelties gave lustre to a reign which had fooled away the independence of Judah, and sought a momentary deliverance by accepting a service the burden of which was fast becoming intolerable" (Proph. of Israel, p. 251).

Urijah the priest--i.e., the high priest, who appears to be identical with the "credible witness" of Isaiah 8:2. His high official position would secure Urijah's credit as a witness.

Fashion . . . pattern . . . workmanship.--These terms indicate that the king's interest in the matter was artistic rather than religious. . . .

Verses 10-18. - Religious changes introduced into Judea by Ahaz. The new position into which Ahaz had brought himself with respect to Assyria was followed by certain religious changes, which were probably, in part at any rate, its consequence, though some of them may have been the result of his own religious (or irreligious) convictions. He had a new altar made and introduced into the temple, which at first he used for his own private sacrifices (vers. 10-13); then, that his new altar might occupy the pest of honor, he removed from its place the old brazen altar of Solomon, and put it in an inferior position (ver. 14). After this, he required all sacrifices to be offered on the new altar (ver. 15). Finally, he proceeded to interfere with several other of Solomon's arrangements, with what particular object is not very apparent (vers. 17, 18). In carrying out all these changes, he had the high priest of the time for his obsequious servant. Verse 10. - And King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser King of Assyria. It was a practice of the Assyrian monarchs to hold durbar's, or courts, at central places in the provinces, in the course of their military expeditions, whereat to receive the subject princes of the neighborhood, who were expected to do homage, and bring with them presents, or their fixed tribute. Tiglath-pileser held one such court in the earlier part of his reign at Arpad, a Syrian town, at which were present the kings of Comma-gene, Syria, Tyre, Carchemish, Gaugama, and others. He seems to have held another at some unknown place, about B.C. 732 (it may have been at Damascus), which was attended by the kings of Commagene, Car-chemish, Gebal, Hamath, Gaugama, Tubal, Arvad, Ammon, Moab, Askelon, Gaza, Edom, and Judah, the last-mentioned being Yahu-khazi (Jehoahaz), by which is probably meant Ahaz. It is with reason conjectured that this was the occasion mentioned in the text, when "King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser." And saw an altar that was at Damascus. It is almost certain that this was an Assyrian altar. Ahaz may at one time have turned for help to the gods of Syria (2 Chronicles 28:23), and asked their aid against his enemies; but the glory of Syria was now gone, her gods were discredited, and the place of power was occupied by Assyria, which had asserted its supremacy. When Ahaz visited Tiglath-pileser at Damascus, and "saw an altar," it was, in all probability, Tiglath-pileser's altar. The Assyrian kings were accustomed to carry altars about with them, and to have them set up in their fortified camps, or in other convenient places. They also, not infrequently, set up altars to the great gods in the countries which they conquered, and required the inhabitants to pay them reverence. Ahaz may either have been required by Tiglath-pileser to set up an Assyrian altar in the temple, or he may have volunteered the act as one which was likely to please his suzerain. And King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest - i.e., the high priest - the fashion of the altar and the pattern of it. Assyrian altars were quite different from Jewish ones. Generally they were of small size, either square with a battlemented edge, or round at the top and supported on a triangular base ('Dict. of the Bible,' ad voc. "Altar," vol. 1. p. 55, woodcuts Nos. 3 and 5). It is scarcely likely that Ahaz was particularly pleased with the pattern (Keil), and therefore wished to have one like it. He probably merely wished to satisfy his suzerain that he had conformed to some of his religious usages. According to all the workmanship thereof. Though not very elaborate, the Assyrian altars have an ornamentation which is peculiar and unmistakable. Careful instructions would be needed for workmen who had never seen the sort of object which they were required to produce.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then King
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

Ahaz
אָחָ֡ז (’ā·ḥāz)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 271: Ahaz -- 'he has grasped', two Israelites

went
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ (way·yê·leḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

to Damascus
דּוּמֶּ֔שֶׂק (dūm·me·śeq)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1834: Damascus -- a city in Aram (Syria)

to meet
לִ֠קְרַאת (liq·raṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7125: Against he come, help, meet, seek, to, in the way

Tiglath-pileser
פִּלְאֶ֤סֶר (pil·’e·ser)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8407: Tiglath-pileser -- an Assyrian king

king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Assyria.
אַשּׁוּר֙ (’aš·šūr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 804: Ashshur

On seeing
וַיַּ֥רְא (way·yar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

the altar
הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ (ham·miz·bê·aḥ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4196: An altar

in Damascus,
בְּדַמָּ֑שֶׂק (bə·ḏam·mā·śeq)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1834: Damascus -- a city in Aram (Syria)

King
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

Ahaz
אָחָ֜ז (’ā·ḥāz)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 271: Ahaz -- 'he has grasped', two Israelites

sent
וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ (way·yiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

Uriah
אוּרִיָּ֣ה (’ū·rî·yāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 223: Uriah -- 'flame of Yah', the name of a Hittite and of two Israelites

the priest
הַכֹּהֵ֗ן (hak·kō·hên)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3548: Priest

a model
דְּמ֧וּת (də·mūṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1823: Resemblance, model, shape, like

of the altar
הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ (ham·miz·bê·aḥ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4196: An altar

and complete plans
תַּבְנִית֖וֹ (taḇ·nî·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8403: Structure, a model, resemblance

for its construction.
מַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃ (ma·‘ă·śê·hū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4639: An action, a transaction, activity, a product, property


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OT History: 2 Kings 16:10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
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