2 Kings 16:14 He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar.

◄ 2 Kings 16:14 ►

New International Version
As for the bronze altar that stood before the LORD, he brought it from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the temple of the LORD—and put it on the north side of the new altar.

New Living Translation
Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the LORD’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar.

English Standard Version
And the bronze altar that 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.

Berean Standard Bible
He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar.

King James Bible
And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

New King James Version
He also brought the bronze altar which was before the LORD, from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the house of the LORD—and put it on the north side of the new altar.

New American Standard Bible
And the bronze altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of his altar.

NASB 1995
The bronze altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of his altar.

NASB 1977
And the bronze altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of his altar.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now as for the bronze altar, which was before Yahweh, he drew it away from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of Yahweh, and he put it on the north side of his altar.

Amplified Bible
He brought the bronze altar, which was before the LORD, from the front of the house (temple), from between the [new] altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the [new] altar.

Christian Standard Bible
He took the bronze altar that was before the LORD in front of the temple between his altar and the LORD’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He took the bronze altar that was before the LORD in front of the temple between his altar and the LORD’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

American Standard Version
And the brazen altar, which was before Jehovah, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of Jehovah, and put it on the north side of his altar.

Contemporary English Version
After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside, so his new altar would be right in front of the LORD's temple.

English Revised Version
And the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But he moved the bronze altar dedicated to the LORD. It had been in front of the temple between his altar and the LORD's temple. Ahaz put it on the north side of his altar.

Good News Translation
The bronze altar dedicated to the LORD was between the new altar and the Temple, so Ahaz moved it to the north side of his new altar.

International Standard Version
Then he took the bronze altar that stood in the LORD's presence from in front of the Temple, moved it to the north side of his altar,

Majority Standard Bible
He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar.

NET Bible
He moved the bronze altar that stood in the LORD's presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the LORD's temple) and put it on the north side of the new altar.

New Heart English Bible
The bronze altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the LORD, from the front of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

World English Bible
The bronze altar, which was before Yahweh, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and Yahweh’s house, and put it on the north side of his altar.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
As for the altar of bronze that [is] before YHWH—he brings [it] near from the front of the house, from between the altar and the house of YHWH, and puts it on the side of the altar, northward.

Young's Literal Translation
As to the altar of brass that is before Jehovah -- he bringeth it near from the front of the house, from between the altar and the house of Jehovah, and putteth it on the side of the altar, northward.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the altar of brass which was before Jehovah, and he will bring from the face of the house from between the altar and from between the house of Jehovah, and he will give it upon the thigh of the altar to the north.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the altar of brass that was before the Lord, he removed from the face of the temple, and from the place of the altar, and from the place of the temple of the Lord: and he set it at the side of the altar toward the north.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But the altar of brass, which was before the Lord, he took away from the face of the temple, and from the place of the altar, and from the place of the temple of the Lord. And he positioned it at the side of the altar, toward the north.

New American Bible
The bronze altar that stood before the LORD he brought from the front of the temple—that is, from the space between the new altar and the house of the LORD—and set it on the north side of his altar.

New Revised Standard Version
The bronze altar that 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.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And the altar of brass, which was before the LORD, he removed from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he brought the altar of brass that was before LORD JEHOVAH from before the front of his house, from between the altar and the house of LORD JEHOVAH, and he placed it on the side of the altar at the north.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the brazen altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he brought forward the one before the house of the Lord from between the altar and the house of the Lord, and he set it openly by the side of the altar northwards.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Damascus Falls
…13He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north side of the new altar. 15Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance.”…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

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 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 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
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.

2 Kings 23:6
He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

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 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.

Isaiah 8:19-20
When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? / To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Isaiah 44:13-20
The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. / He cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow. / It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread. He also fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ...

Jeremiah 7:30
For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.

Jeremiah 19:13
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”

Ezekiel 8:5-6
“Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy. / “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”

Treasury of Scripture

And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.

the brasen

Exodus 40:6,29
And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation…

2 Chronicles 1:5
Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.

2 Chronicles 4:1
Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.

the altar

2 Kings 16:10-12
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof…

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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

Berean Study Bible

He took the bronze altar
The bronze altar, also known as the altar of burnt offering, was a central element in the worship practices of ancient Israel. It was originally constructed under the guidance of Moses as described in Exodus 27:1-8. The Hebrew word for altar, "mizbeach," signifies a place of sacrifice, a sacred space where offerings were made to God. This altar symbolized the people's devotion and obedience to God, serving as a tangible representation of their covenant relationship with Him. In this context, King Ahaz's actions reflect a departure from traditional worship practices, indicating a shift in priorities and a potential compromise of faith.

that stood before the LORD
The phrase "before the LORD" underscores the altar's sacred position and its role in facilitating direct communication with God. In the Hebrew tradition, being "before the LORD" implies a state of reverence and submission to divine authority. The altar's placement before the LORD signifies its importance in the religious life of Israel, serving as a focal point for worship and atonement. Ahaz's decision to move the altar suggests a disregard for its sanctity and a willingness to alter established religious practices for personal or political reasons.

in the front of the temple
The temple, constructed by Solomon, was the epicenter of Israelite worship and the dwelling place of God's presence among His people. The altar's position in front of the temple highlights its integral role in the sacrificial system and its connection to the temple's sacred functions. By altering the altar's location, Ahaz disrupts the traditional order of worship, reflecting a broader trend of religious syncretism and deviation from the covenantal norms established by God.

between the new altar and the house of the LORD
The introduction of a "new altar" indicates a significant change in the religious landscape of Judah. This new altar, likely influenced by foreign designs or practices, represents a departure from the divinely ordained worship system. The juxtaposition of the new altar with the house of the LORD symbolizes a tension between innovation and tradition, highlighting the challenges faced by the Israelites in maintaining their distinct religious identity amidst external influences.

and put it on the north side of the new altar
The relocation of the bronze altar to the north side of the new altar signifies a demotion of its status and importance. In biblical symbolism, the north often represents a place of lesser honor or significance. By moving the altar, Ahaz not only alters its physical position but also its spiritual significance, prioritizing the new altar over the traditional one. This act reflects a broader pattern of compromise and accommodation, as Ahaz seeks to align Judah's worship practices with those of surrounding nations, ultimately leading to spiritual decline and judgment.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) And he brought also the brasen altar . . .--Literally, And as for the brasen altar, he brought it near (to the new one), away from the front of the house, to wit, from between the (new) altar, and the house of Jehovah; and put it at the side of the (new) altar northward. The brasen altar used to stand "before the Lord," i.e., in the middle of the court of the priests, and in front of the Temple proper. The verse seems to imply that Urijah had pushed it forward nearer to the sanctuary, and set the new Syrian altar in its place. Ahaz, not satisfied with this arrangement, which appeared to confer a kind of precedence on the old altar, drew it back again, and fixed it on the north side of his new altar.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the Lord. One sin leads on to another. Having introduced his self-invented quasi-idolatrous altar into the temple, and so inserted "the thin end of the wedge," Ahaz was not satisfied, but proceeded to another innovation. Urijah, having had no express order from the king with respect to the position of the new altar, had placed it in front of the old one, between it and the eastern gate of the court. Thus the old altar, which was directly in front of the temple porch, seemed to cut the new altar off from the temple. Ahaz would not have this continue, and resolved on removing the altar of Solomon from, its place, and putting it elsewhere. From the forefront of the house (comp. 1 Kings 8:54), from between the altar - i.e., the new altar - and the house of the Lord - i.e. the temple building - and put it on the north side of the altar. The removal of Solomon's altar from its place of honor to a side position left the space clear between the temple and the new altar, which thus, without exactly occupying the same site, took practically the place of Solomon's altar. Solomon's altar, shifted to one side, was put, as it were, in the background; the eye rested on the new altar, right in front of the porch and temple, which so became "the main altar" (הַמִּזְבַּת חַגָּדול), as it is called in the next verse.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

He also took
וַיַּקְרֵ֗ב (way·yaq·rêḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7126: To come near, approach

the bronze
הַנְּחֹשֶׁת֮ (han·nə·ḥō·šeṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5178: Copper, something made of that metal, coin, a fetter, base

altar
הַמִּזְבַּ֣ח (ham·miz·baḥ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4196: An altar

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

stood before
לִפְנֵ֣י (lip̄·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the LORD
יְהוָה֒ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

from the front
פְּנֵ֣י (pə·nê)
Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

of the temple
הַבַּ֔יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

(between
מִבֵּין֙ (mib·bên)
Preposition-m
Strong's 996: An interval, space between

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

and
וּמִבֵּ֖ין (ū·mib·bên)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m
Strong's 996: An interval, space between

the house
בֵּ֣ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of the LORD)
יְהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

and he put
וַיִּתֵּ֥ן (way·yit·tên)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

it on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the north
צָפֽוֹנָה׃ (ṣā·p̄ō·w·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6828: Hidden, dark, the north as a, quarter

side
יֶ֥רֶךְ (ye·reḵ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3409: Thigh,loin, flank, side

of the [new] altar.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ (ham·miz·bê·aḥ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4196: An altar

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OT History: 2 Kings 16:14 The bronze altar which was before Yahweh (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)