2 Chronicles 26
1 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.
Then all the people of Judah appointed his son, Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, as king in place of his father, Amaziah.
He built up Eloth, and he restored it to the dominion of Judah. After this, the king slept with his fathers.
3 Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem.
4 Uzziah did things that Yahweh considered to be good, like his father Amaziah had done.
And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, in accord with all that his father, Amaziah, had done.
5 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.
And he sought the Lord, during the days of Zechariah, who understood and saw God. And while he was seeking the Lord, he directed him in all things.
6 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.
Indeed, he went out and fought against the Philistines. And he destroyed the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Also, he built towns in Ashdod, and among the Philistines.
7 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.
And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians, who were living in Gurbaal, and against the Ammonites.
8 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.
And the Ammonites weighed out gifts to Uzziah. And his name became widely known, even to the entrance of Egypt, because of his frequent victories.
9 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.
And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem, above the gate of the corner, and above the gate of the valley, and others on the same side of the wall, and he fortified them.
10 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.
Then he also constructed towers in the wilderness, and dug many cisterns, because he had much cattle, both in the plains and in the starkness of the wilderness. Also, he had vineyards and dressers of vines in the mountains and at Carmel. Certainly, he was a man devoted to agriculture.
11 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.
Now the army of his warriors, who would go forth to battle, was under the hand of Jeiel, the scribe, and Maaseiah, the teacher, and under the hand of Hananiah, who was among the king’s commanders.
12 There were 2,600 leaders of those groups of soldiers.
And the entire number of the leaders, by the families of strong men, was two thousand six hundred.
13 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.
And the entire army under them was three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, who were fit for war, and who fought on behalf of the king against the adversaries.
14 Uzziah gave to each soldier a shield, a spear, a helmet, a vest made of iron plates, a bow [and arrows], and a slingshot.
Also, Uzziah prepared for them, that is, for the entire army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and breastplates, and bows, as well as slings for the casting of stones.
15 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.
And in Jerusalem, he made various kinds of machines, which he placed in the towers, and at the corners of the walls, so as to shoot arrows and large stones. And his name went forth to far away places, for the Lord was helping him and had strengthened him.
16 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.
But when he had become strong, his heart was lifted up, even to his own destruction. And he neglected the Lord his God. And entering into the temple of the Lord, he intended to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
17 Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and 80 other brave priests followed him into the temple.
And entering immediately after him, Azariah the priest, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, very valiant men,
18 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]!”
withstood the king, and they said: “It is not your office, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord; rather, it is the office of the priests, that is, of the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated for this same ministry. Depart from the sanctuary, otherwise you will be in contempt. For this act will not be reputed to you for your glory by the Lord God.”
19 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.
And Uzziah, having become angry, while holding in his hand the censer so that he might burn incense, threatened the priests. And immediately a leprosy arose on his forehead, in the sight of the priests, in the house of the Lord, at the altar of incense.
20 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.]
And when the high priest Azariah, and all the rest of the priests, had gazed upon him, they saw the leprosy on his forehead, and they hurried to expel him. Then too, he himself, becoming terrified, rushed to depart, because immediately he had become aware of the wound of the Lord.
21 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.
And so, king Uzziah was a leper, even until the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, being full of leprosy, because of which he had been ejected from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham, his son, directed the house of the king, and he was judging the people of the land.
22 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.
But the rest of the words of Uzziah, the first and the last, were written by the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
23 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].
And Uzziah slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the field of the royal sepulchers, because he was a leper. And Jotham, his son, reigned in his place.
