ses of your
own against the Lord your God? Now hear me therefore, and send back
the captives, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the
fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you."

Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son
of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son
of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that
came from the war, and said unto them, "Ye shall not bring in the
captives hither: for ye purpose that which will bring upon us a
trespass against the Lord, to add unto our sins and to our trespass:
for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel."

{295}

So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes
and all the congregation. And the men who have been named rose up, and
took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked
among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and
to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon
asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto their
brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

At that time did King Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.
For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away
captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland,
and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Aijalon,
and Gederoth, and Soco with the towns thereof, and Timnah with the
towns thereof, Gimzo also and the towns thereof: and they dwelt there.
For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he
had dealt wantonly in Judah, and trespassed sore against the Lord. And
Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but
strengthened him not.

For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of
the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of
Assyria: but it helped him not. And in the time of his distress did he
trespass yet more against the Lord, this same King Ahaz. For he
sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus. And King Ahaz went to Damascus
to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at
Damascus: and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the
altar, and the {296} pattern of it, according to all the workmanship
thereof. And Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that
King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the pri