Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 28:20
Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records a historical moment where King Ahaz of Judah, already humbled by the LORD for his unfaithfulness, seeks aid from Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria.
The words — וַ/יָּ֥צַר (va/i.Ya.tzar) means “and he harassed,” directly contrasted with the negation וְ/לֹ֥א (ve./Lo’) to show the Assyrian king brought oppression rather than the expected military support.
The thread — The same Assyrian campaign appears in 2 Kings 15:29 as territorial conquest, while 1 Chronicles 5:26 identifies Pul as Tiglath-pileser, and Isaiah 30:16 condemns the strategy of fleeing to horses and foreign powers instead of trusting God.
Why it lands — The passage demands the conclusion that political alliances cannot circumvent divine judgment, demonstrating that turning to foreign rulers yields only further affliction when a nation has already been humbled by the LORD.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Tilgath–pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.
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.
- 1 Chronicles 5:26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.
- Isaiah 30:16 “No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
- 2 Kings 16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
- 2 Kings 17:5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
- Isaiah 7:20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.
- Isaiah 30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
- Jeremiah 2:37 Moreover, you will leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not prosper by their help.”
- Hosea 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.