Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 28:24
Then Ahaz gathered up the articles of the house of God, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the house of the LORD, and set up altars of his own on every street corner in Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Ahaz acts during his reign in Judah, immediately after attributing his military defeat to the gods of Damascus. He systematically dismantles the Temple’s worship infrastructure to install his own altars in Jerusalem.
The words — וַ/יֶּאֱסֹ֨ף (va/i.ye.'e.Sof) means "and he gathered," while וַ/יְקַצֵּץ֙ (va/y.ka.Tzetz) translates literally as "and he cut up." These consecutive verbs mark the deliberate, physical destruction of sacred objects.
The thread — The Temple’s shutdown appears in 2 Kings 16:17, where Ahaz removes the bronze basin and movable stands, and in 2 Chronicles 29:7, where later leaders extinguish the lamps and seal the doors. His illicit altars are later cleared in 2 Chronicles 30:14.
Why it lands — The text records Ahaz gathering sacred vessels, cutting them apart, closing the Temple doors, and erecting street altars. It asks the reader to observe how political failure can drive a leader to physically dismantle worship structures rather than seek restoration.
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 Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 29:7 They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn incense or present burnt offerings in the Holy Place of the God of Israel.
- 2 Kings 16:17 King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base.
- 2 Chronicles 30:14 They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Chronicles 33:3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
- 2 Kings 25:13 Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried the bronze to Babylon.
- 2 Chronicles 29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah opened and repaired the doors of the house of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Hosea 12:11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
- Acts 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
- Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.