KJV ORIGINAL
And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
When the king returned from Damascus, he saw the altar and went up to it to make offerings on it.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
This verse describes King Ahaz personally approaching and making sacrifices on a pagan altar he had ordered to be built in God's temple.
📚 Historical Context
This refers to King Ahaz of Judah, who had traveled to Damascus to meet the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III around 732 BC. While there, Ahaz saw a pagan altar and sent instructions to have a copy built in Jerusalem's temple, replacing God's bronze altar. When he returned, he personally inaugurated this foreign altar, which was a serious violation of God's commands about worship.
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