The Meaning of 2 Kings 16:2 Explained

2 Kings 16:2

KJV: Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.

YLT: A son of twenty years is Ahaz in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he hath not done that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, like David his father,

Darby: Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not what was right in the sight of Jehovah his God, like David his father,

ASV: Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, like David his father.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Twenty  years  old  [was] Ahaz  when he began to reign,  and reigned  sixteen  years  in Jerusalem,  and did  not [that which was] right  in the sight  of the LORD  his God,  like David  his father. 

What does 2 Kings 16:2 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 16:1-9 - Seeking Help From Wrong Sources
Ahaz was one of the most wicked kings of Judah. He not only passed his children through the lines of fire, but seems to have burned some of them, 2 Chronicles 28:3. He filled Judah with the abominations of the heathen. The hills and woodlands of the Holy Land were contaminated by all the excesses of nature-worship. When therefore Syria and Israel confederated against him, Ahaz naturally turned to creature-aid. In spite of the remonstrances of Isaiah, he offered a bribe to the king of Assyria to do what God Almighty would have done, under happier conditions. This was the first step toward the utter undoing of Judah.
The first ten or twelve chapters of Isaiah cast a flood of light on the inner politics of this dark epoch. They give a glimpse also of Isaiah's profound emotions at the evils that threatened his fatherland. No servant of God can view the present state of civilization without grave concern, and we are bound to resist, so far as we can, the influences which are engaged in the work of moral disintegration. We are citizens of heaven, but also of earth, and must render to Caesar such things as naturally belong to him. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 16:2 mean?

Old twenty years Ahaz [was] when he became king and six [and] ten years he reigned in Jerusalem and not he did do [what was] right in the sight of Yahweh his God as David [had done] his father
בֶּן־ עֶשְׂרִ֤ים שָׁנָה֙ אָחָ֣ז בְּמָלְכ֔וֹ וְשֵׁשׁ־ עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה שָׁנָ֔ה מָלַ֖ךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְלֹא־ עָשָׂ֣ה הַיָּשָׁ֗ר בְּעֵינֵ֛י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָ֖יו כְּדָוִ֥ד אָבִֽיו

בֶּן־  Old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עֶשְׂרִ֤ים  twenty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: עֶשְׂרִים  
Sense: twenty, twentieth.
שָׁנָה֙  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
אָחָ֣ז  Ahaz  [was] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָחָז  
Sense: king of Judah, son Jotham, father of Hezekiah.
בְּמָלְכ֔וֹ  when  he  became  king 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
וְשֵׁשׁ־  and  six 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular
Root: שֵׁשׁ  
Sense: six.
עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה  [and]  ten 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: עָשָׂר 
Sense: ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers).
שָׁנָ֔ה  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
מָלַ֖ךְ  he  reigned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם  in  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
וְלֹא־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
עָשָׂ֣ה  he  did  do 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
הַיָּשָׁ֗ר  [what  was]  right 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
בְּעֵינֵ֛י  in  the  sight 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
יְהוָ֥ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהָ֖יו  his  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
כְּדָוִ֥ד  as  David  [had  done] 
Parse: Preposition-k, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
אָבִֽיו  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.