But walked in the ways of the kings of Israel: Ahaz followed the negative example of the kings of the northern kingdom. For walked in the ways of, see the comments on 2 Chr 6.14 and 11.17. This phrase may be rendered “lived according to the example of” or “imitated the model of.” NET Bible preserves some of the imagery here by rendering this clause as “He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel.” La Bible du Semeur says “But he followed the example of the kings of Israel” (similarly Good News Translation).

He even made molten images for the Baals: The adverb even translates the common Hebrew conjunction plus a Hebrew adverb that is used as an intensifier to take the description of this king’s evil behavior a step further. Another possible translation is “also” (New International Version). Since it is not likely that Ahaz himself made the metal images of Baal, it will be better to say that he “had [them] made” (so Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem). Molten images were idols made by metal-casting. The images were made by pouring melted liquid metals such as gold, silver, bronze, or iron into molds and allowing them to cool and harden. Bible en français courant says “statues of melted metal.” The metal idols here were made for the Baals; that is, they were made for the worship of the god Baal. This phrase may be rendered “for worshiping Baal” (similarly Dillard) or “in order to worship Baal” (similarly Parole de Vie). Regarding the plural expression the Baals, see the comments on 2 Chr 17.3.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .