1 Ahaz was 20 years old. He was king in Judah for 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not do right like David. ❌ 2 Ahaz copied bad kings of Israel. He made fake gods to pray to. ❌ 3 Ahaz burned sweet smoke in a valley called Hinnom. He did a very bad thing. He burned his sons in fire. ️ 4 Ahaz prayed to fake gods on high hills and under green trees. ️ 5 So God let the king of Syria win. Many people were taken to Damascus. Then Israel’s king won too and hurt Judah. ⚔️♂️ 6 Pekah from Israel killed many brave men in Judah in one day, because Judah left God. ⚔️ 7 A strong man named Zichri killed the king’s son Maaseiah, the house leader Azrikam, and Elkanah, who helped the king. ️ 8 Israel took a lot of women and kids and many things and went to Samaria. ➡️️ 9 A man of God named Oded spoke to the army in Samaria. He said, “God let you win, but you were too mean.” ️⚠️ 10 Oded said, “Do not keep Judah’s people as your workers. You did wrong too.” ✋❌ 11 Oded said, “Listen to me. Send the people back home. God is very mad.” ➡️ 12 Leaders from Ephraim—Azariah, Berechiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa—stood up and said no to keeping the people. ✋ 13 The leaders said, “Do not bring the people here. We have done enough wrong. God is mad at us.” ♂️ 14 The soldiers left the people and the stuff with the leaders and all the crowd. 15 The named men helped the people. They gave clothes, shoes, food, and water. They put oil on them. Weak ones rode on donkeys. They took them to Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then the helpers went back to Samaria. ➡️ 16 At this time, King Ahaz asked the kings of Assyria to help him. 17 The people of Edom came again. They hit Judah and took people away. ⚔️♀️ 18 The Philistines came too. They took towns in the land and lived in them. ️➡️ 19 God let Judah lose because Ahaz led the people to do very bad and did not obey God. ⬇️❌ 20 Tilgath-Pilneser, the king of Assyria, came, but he made trouble for Ahaz. He did not help. 21 Ahaz took gifts from God’s house, the king’s house, and the leaders, and gave them to the king of Assyria. It did not help. ️➡️❌ 22 When Ahaz had big trouble, he did even more bad against God. ➡️❌ 23 Ahaz prayed to the gods of Damascus. He said, “They helped Syria, so they will help me.” But they hurt him and hurt his people. ❌ 24 Ahaz took things from God’s house and broke them. He shut the doors of God’s house. He made bad places to burn to fake gods in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every town in Judah, Ahaz made high places to burn to other gods. This made God angry. ️❌ 26 More about Ahaz is in the big book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz died. They buried him in the city of Jerusalem, but not with the kings. His son Hezekiah became king. ⚰️➡️