19. But God was punishing Judah with these disasters, because Ahaz had disobeyed him and refused to stop Judah from sinning.
20. So Tiglath Pileser came to Judah, but instead of helping, he made things worse.
21. Ahaz gave him gifts from the Lord's temple and the king's palace, as well as from the homes of Israel's other leaders. The Assyrian king still refused to help Ahaz.
22. Even after all these terrible things happened to Ahaz, he sinned against the Lord even worse than before.
23. He said to himself, “The Syrian gods must have helped their kings defeat me. Perhaps if I offer sacrifices to those gods, they will help me.” That was the sin that finally led to the downfall of Ahaz, as well as to the destruction of Judah.