5 So his god Yahweh allowed KinG Ahaz to be defeated by the king of Aram—they attacked and took many prisoners back to Damascus. In addition, Yahweh allowed the king of Yisrael to be victorious and they slaughtered many fighters.[ref] 6 Yisrael’s King Pekah (Remalyah’s son) killed 120,000 powerful warriors in Yehudah in one day, after they’d abandoned the god of their ancestors. 7 A warrior from Efrayim named Zikri killed King Ahaz’s son Maaseyah, Azrikam the palace supervisor, and Elkanah the king’s second-in-command. 8 Yisrael’s soldiers captured two-hundred thousand of their relatives, including their wives and children. They also took a lot of plunder back to Shomron (Samaria) with them.

The prophet Oded

9 Now there was a prophet of Yahweh named Oded, and he went out to the army of Yisrael as it was returning to Shomron, and told them, “Listen, Yahweh, the god of your ancestors was angry with Yehudah, so he helped you all defeat them. However, you all killed them in rage and God has taken notice. 10 Now you want to keep the people of Yerushalem and Yehudah as your own male and female slaves, but that would certainly make you all guilty before your god Yahweh. 11 So then, listen to me and return those captives because they’re your own relatives, as Yahweh is extremely angry at you all.”

12 Then some of the leaders of the Efrayim tribe took action and confronted those returning from battle: Azaryah (Yehohanan’s son), Berekyah (Meshillemot’s son), Yehizkiyah (Shallum’s son), and Amasa (Hadlai’s son) 13 told the ones returning, “Don’t bring those captives here, because that would be disobedience and adding to the rest of our disobedience and wrongs, as Yahweh’s already angry at us here in Yisrael.” 14 So the returning soldiers released the captives in front of the leaders and all the assembled people, and dropped all the plunder there as well. 15 Then some men from Yisrael were called out by name to come and search the plunder to find clothes and dress the naked captives from Yehudah and give them sandals. Then they gave them food and drink, as well as oil to rub on their wounds. They gave donkeys to those who couldn’t easily walk, and took them to Yeriho (The City of Palms) which was nearer their relatives, then those men returned to Shomron (Samaria).

16 Around that time, King Ahaz requested help from the Assyrian kings 17 as the Edomites had been and attacked Yehudah and taken captives. 18 Also the Philistines had raided the lowland cities and the Negev, and they’d captured Beyt-Shemesh, Ayyalon, Gederoth, as well as Sokoh, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages 19 because Yahweh was humbling King Ahaz as he’d thrown off restraint in Yehudah and been very unfaithful to Yahweh. 20 So the Assyrian King Tiglat-Pileser came, except he ended up adding to his troubles rather than helping. 21 Ahaz gave the Assyrian king valuables from the temple and the palace and from other leaders, but that didn’t help.