The XVI. Chapter.
[ A] IN the seuententh yeare of Pecah ye sonne of Romelia, was Achas the sonne of Iotham kynge of Iuda. Twētye yeare olde was Achas whā he was made kynge, & reigned sixtene yeare at Ieru∣salem, & dyd not yt which was righte in the sighte of ye LORDE his God, as dyd Dauid his father: for he walked in the waye of the kynges of Israel, Yee and caused his son∣ne to go thorow the fyre, after the maner of the abhominacions of the Heythen, whom the LORDE droue awaye before the childrē of Israel. And he dyd sacrifice, and brent in∣cense vpon the hye places, & vpon all hilles, and amonge all grene trees. Then wente Rezin the kynge of Syria, and Pecah the sonne of Romelia kynge of Israel vp to Ie¦rusalem to fighte agaynst it, and layed sege to Achas: but they coulde not wynne it. At the same tyme dyd Rezin the kynge of Sy∣ria, brynge Eloth agayne vnto Syria, and thrust ye Iewes out of Eloth. But the Sy∣rians came & dwelt therin vnto this daye.
[ B] Neuertheles Achas sent messaungers vn¦to Teglatpha••asser ye kynge of Assiria, sayē¦ge: I am thy seruaunt & thy sonne, come vp & helpe me out of ye hande of the kynge of Sy¦ria, & of the kynge of Israel, which are rysen vp agaynst me. And Achas toke the syluer & golde yt was founde in ye house of ye LORDE, & in the treasures of ye kynges house, & sent a present to ye kynge of Assiria. And ye kinge of Assiria cōsented vnto him, & wente vp to Damascon, & wanne it, & caried them awaye vnto Cira, & slewe Rezin. And kynge Achas wēte to Damascon for to mete Teglatpha∣lasser ye kynge of Assiria. And whā he sawe an altare yt was at Damascon, kynge Achas sent a patrone & symilitude of ye same altare vnto the prest Vrias, euen as it was made. And Vrias the prest buylded an altare, and made it acordinge as kynge Achas had sent vnto him from Damascon, tyll Achas ye kyn¦ge came from Damascon.
[ C] And whan ye kynge came from Damas∣con, and sawe the altare, he offred theron, & kyndled his burnt offerynges and meat offe∣rynges vpon it, and poured his drynk offerin¦ges theron, & caused the bloude of ye deedof∣ferynges which he offred, to be sprenkled vpon the altare. But the brasen altare that stode before the LORDE, put he awaye, so that it stode not betwene the altare and the house of the LORDE, but set it in the corner on the north syde of the altare.
And Achas the kynge cōmaunded Vrias ye prest, & sayde: Vpō the greate altare shalt thou kyndle ye burnt offrynge in the mornyn¦ge, & the meat offrynge in the euenynge, & the kynges burnt offrynge & his meat offrynge, & the burnt offrynge of all the people in the londe, wt their meat offrynge & drynk offryn∣ge. And all the bloude of the burnt offeryn∣ges, & all the bloude of the other offrynges shalt thou sprenkle theron: but with the bra¦sen altare wyll I deuyse what I can. Vrias the prest dyd all acordinge as Achas the kyn¦ge commaunded him.
And kynge Achas brake downe the sea∣tes, and put awaye the ketell from aboue, and toke the lauer from the brasen bullockes that were there vnder, and set it vpon ye pa¦uement of stone. And the pulpit for the Sab¦bath which they had buylded in the house, and ye entrye of the kynges house turned he vnto the house of the LORDE, for the kynge of Assirias sake.
What more there is to saye of Achas, what he dyd, beholde, it is wrytten in ye Cro¦nicles of the kynges of Iuda. And Achas fell on slepe with his fathers, & was buried wt his fathers in the cite of Dauid. And Eze¦chias his sonne was kynge in his steade.