2 Kings 16:9
in 2 Kings 16So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
KJV
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
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This verse in 2 Kings 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The submission of Judah, which Ahaz proffered, would be of the utmost importance in connection with any projects that might be entertained of Egyptian conquests. Naturally, Damascus was the first object of attack. It was the head of the confederacy, and it lay nearest to an army descending upon Lower Syria, as all Asiatic armies would descend, from the north. It appears from an inscription of Tiglath-pileser’s, that Rezin met him in the field, was defeated, and slain. An attack upon Pekah followed.
This site's exposition
I am thy servant and thy son
on 2 Kings 16:7-9
Ahaz answers the siege by making himself a vassal in words lifted from covenant language, I am thy servant and thy son, offered to Tiglath-pileser rather than to the Lord who had just proved willing to save Jerusalem without him. He funds the appeal by stripping the silver and gold from the house of the Lord and his own treasury, the same expedient Asa used against Baasha at 1 Ki 15:18. Assyria answers by taking Damascus and killing Rezin, and Judah's short-term rescue becomes the debt that shapes the rest of the chapter.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
8:4), that the confederate kings would not prevail against him, Ahaz sought aid from the Assyrian monarch, to purchase which he sent the treasures of the palace and temple. Tiglath-pileser marched against Damascus, slew Rezin the king, and carried the people of Damascus into captivity to Kir, which is thought to have been the city Karine (now Kerend), in Media.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The king of Assyria hearkened unto him - It is said, 2Ch 28:20, that Tilgath-pilneser distressed him, but strengthened him not. Though he came against the Syrians, and took Damascus, and slew Rezin, yet he did not help Ahaz against the Philistines, nor did he lend him any forces to assist against Israel; and he distressed him by taking the royal treasures, and the treasures of the temple, and did him little service for so great a sacrifice. He helped him a little, but distressed him on the whole. It appears that, about this time, Pekah king of Israel nearly ruined Judea: it is said, 2Ch 28:6, that he slew one hundred thousand valiant men in one day; and that he carried away captive to Samaria two hundred thousand women and children, and much spoil; but, at the instance of the prophet Oded, these were all sent back, fed and clothed, 2Ch 28:8-16.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע | vaiyishma' | and he listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֔וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| וַיַּעַל֩ | vaiyaal | and he came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מֶ֨לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֤וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דַּמֶּ֙שֶׂק֙ | damesek | Damascus | H1834 → | 45 times |
| וַֽיִּתְפְּשֶׂ֔הָ | vaiyitpeseha | and he seized it | H8610 → | 65 times |
| וַיַּגְלֶ֖הָ | vaiyagleha | and he took into exile it | H1540 → | 186 times |
| קִ֑ירָה | kirah | Kir towards | H7024 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רְצִ֖ין | retzin | Rezin | H7526 → | 11 times |
| הֵמִֽית׃ | hemit | he put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤עand he listened
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֔וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
וַיַּעַל֩and he came up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
מֶ֨לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֤וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דַּמֶּ֙שֶׂק֙Damascus
damesekH1834 →45 times
וַֽיִּתְפְּשֶׂ֔הָand he seized it
vaiyitpesehaH8610 →65 times
וַיַּגְלֶ֖הָand he took into exile it
vaiyaglehaH1540 →186 times
קִ֑ירָהKir towards
kirahH7024 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רְצִ֖יןRezin
retzinH7526 →11 times
הֵמִֽית׃he put to death
hemitH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 9:7“Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from…
it leads to
- Amos 1:5
I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler of the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 47:4
For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts…
- Deuteronomy 2:23
And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)
- Jeremiah 9:25–26
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised:
- Amos 2:10
And I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, that you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.
- Amos 1:5
Through
Isaiah 7:16For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:4
For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
- Deuteronomy 1:39
And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.
- Isaiah 8:4
Through
Isaiah 22:6Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.
it leads to
- Isaiah 21:2
A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
- Isaiah 21:2
About 2 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
- PlaceSyriaDamascusThe Syrian city Saul was travelling to with letters of arrest when the light stopped him on the road; he entered it blind and left…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
