Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 28:23
He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him, and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But these gods were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Ahaz acts during a period of military distress, responding to defeat by the kings of Aram. He shifts his worship from the LORD to foreign deities after concluding they are more effective.
The words — The text highlights וַ/יִּזְבַּ֗ח (va/i.yiz.Bach), meaning "he sacrificed," and דַרְמֶשֶׂק֮ (dar.me.Sek), meaning "Damascus." These terms anchor Ahaz's pragmatic, transactional approach to worship in a specific defeated context.
The thread — This pattern of abandoning Yahweh for foreign gods recurs in 2 Chronicles 25:14 with Amaziah and 2 Kings 16:12 where Ahaz adopts foreign altar practices. Isaiah 1:28 warns that those who forsake the LORD will perish.
Why it lands — The verse demands a clear-eyed recognition that pragmatic worship yields only ruin, not rescue. It requires the reader to reject transactional faith and acknowledge that relying on any power other than God guarantees downfall.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 25:14 When Amaziah returned from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the Seirites, set them up as his own gods, bowed before them, and burned sacrifices to them.
- 2 Kings 16:12 When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.
- Isaiah 1:28 But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
- Jeremiah 10:5 Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”
- Jeremiah 44:15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,
- Jeremiah 44:20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,
- Hosea 13:9 You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper.
- Habakkuk 1:11 Then they sweep by like the wind and pass through. They are guilty; their own strength is their god.”