2 Kings 16:17
And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
The verse belongs to the account of the reign of Ahaz of Judah, the weak king who came after Jotham and before the good Hezekiah. It stands in the nearly 300-year period running from Joram of Israel through the end of Israel by Shalmaneser and Sargon and the scattering of the tribes, and through the kings of Judah from Ahaziah to Jehoahaz. It was assigned as morning reading for May 12 with 2 Kings 15 and with John 3:1-18 in the evening, within the course of readings in 2 Kings 7-23 and John 1-4.
The verse describes Ahaz cutting away the borders of the bases, removing the lavers from off them, taking the bronze sea off the bronze oxen that supported it, and setting it on a pavement of stones. By this rearrangement of the temple furniture the verse shows Ahaz defiling the temple, with its furnishings suffering growing neglect amid the introduction of pagan worship.
Ahaz put himself into the hands of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria as servant and son, acknowledging his sovereignty and paying him tribute, instead of trusting the Lord for deliverance from the kings of Syria and Israel. He robbed and broke up the house of the Lord, cutting up the temple bases and sea to strip their bronze and sacred furnishings to satisfy Tiglath-pileser's demands for tribute. The inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser name Ahaz of Judah among those who acknowledged his sovereignty and paid tribute, confirming the Scripture record as accurate history. The verse is part of Judah's spotted record in which the kingdom always prospered under righteous, faithful rulers, while rulers turning from God to the grossest idolatry brought calamity upon themselves and their people.