22. When King Ahaz was in trouble, he became even more unfaithful to the Lord.
23. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. They had won the battle over him. He thought, "The gods of the kings of Aram have helped them. So I'll sacrifice to them. Then they'll help me." But they brought him down. In fact, they brought the whole nation of Israel down.
24. Ahaz gathered together everything that belonged to God's temple. He took all of it away. He shut the doors of the Lord's temple. He set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.