The Meaning of 2 Kings 16:5 Explained

2 Kings 16:5

KJV: Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

YLT: Then doth Rezin king of Aram go up, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, to Jerusalem, to battle, and they lay siege to Ahaz, and they have not been able to fight.

Darby: Then Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to battle; and they besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him.

ASV: Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then Rezin  king  of Syria  and Pekah  son  of Remaliah  king  of Israel  came up  to Jerusalem  to war:  and they besieged  Ahaz,  but could  not overcome  [him]. 

What does 2 Kings 16:5 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 16:5 mean?

Then came up Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel to Jerusalem to [make] war and they besieged on Ahaz but not could overcome [him]
אָ֣ז יַעֲלֶ֣ה רְצִ֣ין מֶֽלֶךְ־ אֲ֠רָם וּפֶ֨קַח בֶּן־ רְמַלְיָ֧הוּ יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה וַיָּצֻ֙רוּ֙ עַל־ אָחָ֔ז וְלֹ֥א יָכְל֖וּ לְהִלָּחֵֽם

יַעֲלֶ֣ה  came  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
רְצִ֣ין  Rezin 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְצִין  
Sense: king of Damascus during the reigns of kings Jotham and Ahaz of Judah.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֲ֠רָם  of  Syria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָם 
Sense: Aram or Syria the nation.
וּפֶ֨קַח  and  Pekah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פֶּקַח  
Sense: son of Remaliah, originally a captain of king Pekahiah of Israel, murdered Pekahiah, usurped the throne and became the 8th king of the northern kingdom of Israel.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
רְמַלְיָ֧הוּ  of  Remaliah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְמַלְיָהוּ  
Sense: father of king Pekah of the northern kingdom of Israel.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם  to  Jerusalem 
Parse: 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.
לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה  to  [make]  war 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
וַיָּצֻ֙רוּ֙  and  they  besieged 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: צוּר 
Sense: to bind, besiege, confine, cramp.
אָחָ֔ז  Ahaz 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָחָז  
Sense: king of Judah, son Jotham, father of Hezekiah.
וְלֹ֥א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָכְל֖וּ  could 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָכֹל  
Sense: to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able.
לְהִלָּחֵֽם  overcome  [him] 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.