« | 2 Kings 16 | » |
1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign.
2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done,
3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.
4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him.
6 At that time the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom, and drove the men of Judah from Elath; and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up, and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me."
8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria.
9 And the king of Assyria hearkened to him; the king of Assyria marched up against Damascus, and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.
10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details.
11 And Uriah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uriah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus.
12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar, and went up on it,
13 and burned his burnt offering and his cereal offering, and poured his drink offering, and threw the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar.
14 And the bronze altar which was before the LORD he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar.
15 And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, "Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening cereal offering, and the king's burnt offering, and his cereal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their cereal offering, and their drink offering; and throw upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by."
16 Uriah the priest did all this, as King Ahaz commanded.
17 And King Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands, and removed the laver from them, and he took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pediment of stone.
18 And the covered way for the sabbath which had been built inside the palace, and the outer entrance for the king he removed from the house of the LORD, because of the king of Assyria.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
The Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is a widely respected English translation of the Bible that was first published in 1952 by the National Council of Churches. It was developed as a revision of the American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901, with the primary aim of providing a more accurate and readable text while retaining the literary qualities of its predecessor. The RSV sought to modernize the language of the ASV without sacrificing its faithfulness to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts, making it a significant milestone in the history of English Bible translations.
One of the key features of the RSV is its commitment to formal equivalence, or a word-for-word translation approach. This method ensures that the translation closely mirrors the structure and wording of the original texts, allowing readers to engage more directly with the biblical languages. The translators of the RSV were guided by the latest biblical scholarship of their time, and they endeavored to produce a text that was both accurate and elegant. This combination of precision and literary quality has made the RSV a popular choice for both academic study and liturgical use.
The RSV also stands out for its ecumenical appeal. It was one of the first translations to be accepted across a wide range of Christian denominations, including Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions. This broad acceptance was partly due to the inclusive approach of the translation committee, which included scholars from various religious backgrounds. The RSV’s ecumenical nature helped it gain widespread usage in churches, seminaries, and universities, fostering a greater sense of unity among different Christian communities.
Despite its many strengths, the RSV has faced some criticism over the years. Some conservative scholars and readers have expressed concerns about certain translation choices, arguing that they reflect modernist theological perspectives. Additionally, the RSV’s use of archaic language in certain passages has been a point of contention for those seeking a more contemporary rendering of the Bible. Nonetheless, the Revised Standard Version remains a highly respected and influential translation, valued for its accuracy, literary excellence, and broad ecumenical acceptance. It continues to serve as a foundation for later revisions and translations, such as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the English Standard Version (ESV).