2 Chronicles 26
1 All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
After King Amaziah died, all the people of Judah appointed his son Uzziah, who then was 16 years old, as their king. [One of the things that happened] while he was the king [was that] his men captured Elath [town on the Gulf of Aqaba] and rebuilt it.
2 Uzziah was the one who rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.
Uzziah did things that Yahweh considered to be good, like his father Amaziah had done.
5 He sought God throughout the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
He tried to please God while [the priest] Zechariah was living, because Zechariah taught him to revere God. As long as Uzziah tried to please God, God enabled him to be successful.
6 Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
Uzziah and his army started to fight against the army of Philistia. They tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod [cities]. Then they rebuilt the towns near Ashdod and in other places in Philistia.
7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs living in Gur-baal, and against the Meunites.
God helped them to fight the army of Philistia and the Arabs who lived in [the town of] Gur-Baal and the descendants of Meun who had come to that area from Edom.
8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, for he had become exceedingly powerful.
Even the Ammon [people-group] paid taxes to Uzziah each year. So Uzziah became famous as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.
Uzziah’s [workers] built watchtowers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the place where the wall turns, and they placed weapons in them.
10 Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
They also built watchtowers in the desert and dug many wells. They did that [to provide water] for a lot of the king’s cattle that were in the foothills and in the plains. Uzziah liked farming, so he also stationed workers [to take care of] his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile areas.
11 Uzziah had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officers.
Uzziah’s army was trained for fighting battles. They were in groups that were always ready to go into battle. Jeiel, the king’s secretary, and Maaseiah, one of the army officers, counted the men and placed them in groups. Hananiah, one of the king’s officials, was their commander.
12 The total number of family leaders of the mighty men of valor was 2,600.
There were 2,600 leaders of those groups of soldiers.
13 Under their authority was an army of 307,500 trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.
In the groups that those leaders commanded there were a total of 307,500 well-trained soldiers. It was a very powerful army which was ready to help the king fight against his enemies.
14 Uzziah supplied the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones.
Uzziah gave to each soldier a shield, a spear, a helmet, a vest made of iron plates, a bow [and arrows], and a slingshot.
15 And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was helped tremendously so that he became powerful.
In Jerusalem his skilled workers made machines to put on the watchtowers and on the corners [of the walls], to shoot arrows and to hurl large stones. He became very famous even in distant places, because God helped him very much and enabled him to become very powerful.
16 But when Uzziah grew powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
But because Uzziah was very powerful, he became very proud, and that led to his being punished. He disobeyed what Yahweh his God had commanded. He went into the temple to burn incense on the altar [where God had said that only the priests should burn] incense.
17 Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the LORD, went in after him.
Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and 80 other brave priests followed him into the temple.
18 They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.”
They rebuked him and said to him, “Uzziah, it is not right for you to burn incense to [honor] Yahweh. That duty is only for the priests, those who are descendants of Aaron [our first Supreme Priest]! You must leave [immediately], because you have disobeyed Yahweh our God, and he will not honor you [for what you have done]!”
19 Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
Uzziah had in his hand a pan for burning incense. He became very angry with the priests, but suddenly there was leprosy on his forehead.
20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him.
When Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and all the other priests [who were there] looked at him, they saw the leprosy on his forehead, so they quickly took him outside. And truly the king was eager to leave the temple, because he knew that it was Yahweh who had caused him to have that leprosy, [and he did not want it to become worse.]
21 So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace to govern the people of the land.
King Uzziah had leprosy until he died. And because he had leprosy, he lived in a house that was not near other houses, and he was not allowed to enter [the courtyard of] the temple. His son Jotham supervised the palace and ruled the people of Judah.
22 As for the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from beginning to end, they are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
A record of all the other things that Uzziah did while he was the king [of Judah] was written by the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
23 And Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field of burial that belonged to the kings; for the people said, “He was a leper.” And his son Jotham reigned in his place.
Because Uzziah was a leper, [when he died, ] they would not bury him in the tombs where the other kings were buried. Instead, he was buried in a nearby cemetery that the kings owned. Then his son Jotham became the king [of Judah].
