2 Kings 16:11
New International Version
So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned.

New Living Translation
Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus.

English Standard Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it before King Ahaz returned.

King James Bible
And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.

New King James Version
Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus.

New American Standard Bible
So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to everything that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, in that way Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.

NASB 1995
So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.

NASB 1977
So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.

Legacy Standard Bible
So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.

Amplified Bible
So Urijah the priest built an altar; in accordance with everything that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, that is how Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz returned from Damascus.

Christian Standard Bible
Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, the priest Uriah had completed it.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, Uriah the priest had completed it.

American Standard Version
And Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.

Contemporary English Version
Uriah followed the plans and built an altar exactly like the one in Damascus, finishing it just before Ahaz came back.

English Revised Version
And Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Urijah built an altar exactly like the model King Ahaz sent from Damascus. He finished it before Ahaz returned home from Damascus.

Good News Translation
So Uriah built an altar just like it and finished it before Ahaz returned.

International Standard Version
Uriah the priest built an altar, following the plans that King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus and finishing the altar before King Ahaz returned from Damascus.

Majority Standard Bible
And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it before King Ahaz returned.

NET Bible
Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus.

New Heart English Bible
Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Urijah the priest made it for the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.

World English Bible
Urijah the priest built an altar. According to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Urijah the priest made it for the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and Urijah the priest builds the altar according to all that King Ahaz has sent from Damascus; so Urijah the priest did until the coming in of King Ahaz from Damascus.

Young's Literal Translation
and Urijah the priest buildeth the altar according to all that king Ahaz hath sent from Damascus; so did Urijah the priest till the coming in of king Ahaz from Damascus.

Smith's Literal Translation
And Urijah the priest will build an altar according to all which king Ahaz sent from Damascus: thus did Urijah the priest till the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Urias the priest built an altar according to all that king Achaz had commanded from Damascus, so did Urias the priest, until king Achaz came from Damascus.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And Uriah, the priest, constructed an altar in accord with all that king Ahaz had commanded from Damascus. Uriah, the priest, did so, until king Ahaz arrived from Damascus.

New American Bible
Uriah the priest built an altar according to the plans which King Ahaz sent him from Damascus, and had it completed by the time King Ahaz returned from Damascus.

New Revised Standard Version
The priest Uriah built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, just so did the priest Uriah build it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
So Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus; and Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came from Damascus.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Uriah the Priest made an altar like what King Akhaz sent from Darmsuq; thus Uriah the Priest made before Akhaz the King would come from Darmsuq.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Urias the priest built the altar, according to all the directions which king Achaz sent from Damascus.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Damascus Falls
10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction. 11And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it by the time King Ahaz had returned. 12When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it.…

Cross References
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.

2 Kings 16:10
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.

2 Kings 16:12-13
When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. / He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.

2 Kings 21:4-5
Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.” / In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.

2 Kings 23:12
He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

2 Chronicles 28:2-3
Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made cast images of the Baals. / Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

2 Chronicles 28:22-23
In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD. / 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.

2 Kings 17:9-11
The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities. / They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. / They burned incense on all the high places like the nations that the LORD had driven out before them. They did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger.

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

2 Kings 21:7
Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.

2 Kings 23:4-5
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. / Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

2 Chronicles 29:6-7
For our fathers were unfaithful and did evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him. / 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 Chronicles 33:4-5
Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” / In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.

2 Chronicles 33:7
Manasseh even took the carved image he had made and set it up in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.

2 Chronicles 34:4-5
Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. / Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.


Treasury of Scripture

And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.

built an altar

1 Kings 21:11-13
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them…

2 Chronicles 26:17,18
And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: …

Jeremiah 23:11
For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

Urijah

Isaiah 8:2
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

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Accordance Ahaz Altar Arrived Buildeth Built Copy Damascus Finished Plans Priest Ready Time Uriah Uri'ah Urijah
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2 Kings 16
1. Ahaz's wicked reign
5. Ahaz, assailed by Rezin and Pekah, hires Tiglath-Pileser against them
10. Ahaz, sending a pattern of an altar from Damascus to Urijah,
12. diverts the bronze altar to his own devotions,
17. He raids the temple
19. Hezekiah succeeds him














Then Uriah the priest
Uriah, whose name means "Yahweh is my light," was a priest during the reign of King Ahaz. His role as a priest was to serve as a mediator between God and the people, offering sacrifices and maintaining the temple's sanctity. However, in this context, Uriah's actions reflect a departure from his sacred duties, as he complies with the king's unfaithful request. This highlights the tension between political authority and religious fidelity, a recurring theme in the Old Testament.

built an altar
The construction of an altar is a significant act in the Hebrew tradition, as altars were central to worship and sacrifice. However, this particular altar was modeled after a pagan design from Damascus, indicating a shift away from the divinely ordained worship practices established in the Mosaic Law. This act symbolizes the spiritual decline of Judah under Ahaz's rule, as he sought to incorporate foreign religious elements into the worship of Yahweh.

according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus
King Ahaz's decision to replicate an altar from Damascus reveals his inclination towards syncretism, blending the worship of Yahweh with that of foreign gods. Damascus, the capital of Aram, was a center of pagan worship, and Ahaz's actions demonstrate his lack of trust in the God of Israel. This phrase underscores the king's failure to uphold the covenantal relationship with God, choosing instead to align with political powers and their religious practices.

By the time King Ahaz returned from Damascus
Ahaz's journey to Damascus was likely a political move, seeking alliance and protection from the Assyrian threat. His return marks a pivotal moment where he brings back not only political strategies but also religious corruption. This reflects the broader narrative of Israel and Judah's kings who often turned to foreign powers for security, rather than relying on God's promises and protection.

Uriah the priest had completed it
The completion of the altar by Uriah signifies the full implementation of Ahaz's unfaithful plans. Uriah's compliance with the king's orders, despite his priestly calling, illustrates the compromised state of spiritual leadership in Judah. This act of completion is not just a physical construction but a spiritual deconstruction of the true worship of Yahweh, leading the nation further into idolatry and away from God's commandments.

Verse 11. - And Urijah the priest. No doubt the Uriah of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:2), who might be a "faithful witness" to the record of a fact, though a bad man, over-complaisant in carrying out the will of the king. Built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus: - rather, built the altar, i.e. the altar commanded by the monarch - so Urijah the priest made it against King Ahaz came from Damascus. A bold high priest like Azariah (2 Chronicles 26:17) would have refused to work the king's will in such a matter, which was certainly a desecration of the temple, and to some extent a compromise with idolatry. But Urijah was a man of a weaker fiber, and does not seem to have thought even of remonstrance, much less of resistance.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And Uriah
אוּרִיָּ֥ה (’ū·rî·yāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 223: Uriah -- 'flame of Yah', the name of a Hittite and of two Israelites

built
וַיִּ֛בֶן (way·yi·ḇen)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1129: To build

the altar
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ (ham·miz·bê·aḥ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4196: An altar

according to all
כְּכֹ֣ל (kə·ḵōl)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the instructions
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

King
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

Ahaz
אָחָ֜ז (’ā·ḥāz)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 271: Ahaz -- 'he has grasped', two Israelites

had sent
שָׁלַח֩ (šā·laḥ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

from Damascus,
מִדַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק (mid·dam·me·śeq)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1834: Damascus -- a city in Aram (Syria)

[and]
כֵּ֤ן (kên)
Adverb
Strong's 3651: So -- thus

he completed it
עָשָׂה֙ (‘ā·śāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

by the time
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

King
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־ (ham·me·leḵ-)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

Ahaz
אָחָ֖ז (’ā·ḥāz)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 271: Ahaz -- 'he has grasped', two Israelites

had returned.
בּ֥וֹא (bō·w)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go


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OT History: 2 Kings 16:11 Urijah the priest built an altar: according (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 16:10
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