[¹] Or, cast away restraint.
19. king of Israel] Compare xi. 3 (note).
he had dealt wantonly] margin “cast away restraint.” Compare Exodus xxxii. 25 (Authorized Version and Revised Version) where the same Hebrew verb is twice used.
²⁰And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto[¹] him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not[²]. ²¹For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but it helped him not.
[¹] Or, against.
[²] Or, prevailed not against him.
20. Tilgath-pilneser] i.e. Tiglath-pileser IV. Compare 1 Chronicles v. 6 (note).
came ... him not] Tiglath-pileser, invoked as an ally, is here represented as having come as an unscrupulous oppressor, accepting the bribe and not fulfilling the task for which he was paid by Ahaz (verse 21). But neither 2 Kings nor the Assyrian records relate that Tiglath-pileser thus came into Judah; and it must be remarked that the Hebrew text in this verse does not inspire confidence. Any interpretation is accordingly rendered uncertain.
22–25 (compare 2 Kings xvi. 10–18).
Apostasy of Ahaz.
²²And in the time of his distress[¹] did he trespass yet more against the Lord, this same king Ahaz. ²³For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus[²], which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.