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 It was he who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah. After that the king slept with his ancestors.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign. He reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
4 He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, following the example of his father, Amaziah, in everything.
Uzziah did things that Yahweh considered to be good, like his father Amaziah had done.
5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who taught him to honor God. As long as he sought Yahweh, God made him prosper.
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 and fought against the Philistines. He broke down the city walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod; he built cities in the country of 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 Arabians who lived in Gurbaal, 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 paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread, even to the entrance of Egypt, because he was becoming more 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 In addition, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the turning of the wall, and 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 He built watchtowers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had much cattle, in the lowlands as well as in the plains. He had farmers and vine growers in the hill country and in the fruitful fields, for he loved farming.
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 In addition, Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war in groups which were organized by their number that were counted by Jeiel, the scribe, and Maaseiah, the officer, under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders.
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 whole number of the leaders of the families who led the mighty men was 2,600.
There were 2,600 leaders of those groups of soldiers.
13 Under their hand was an army of 307,500 men that made war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy.
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 prepared for them—for all the army—shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging.
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 In Jerusalem he built machines that were designed by skillful men to be on the towers and on the battlements to shoot arrows and large stones. His fame spread to distant lands, for he was greatly helped and so he became very 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 had become powerful, his heart was lifted up so that he acted corruptly; he trespassed against Yahweh, his God, for he went into the house of Yahweh 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 Azariah, the priest, went in after him, and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were brave men.
Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and 80 other brave priests followed him into the temple.
18 They resisted Uzziah, the king, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the holy place, for you have been unfaithful and you will not be honored by Yahweh 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 Then Uzziah became angry. He was holding a censer in his hand to burn incense. While he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of Yahweh, beside the altar of incense.
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 Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and, behold, he had become leprous on his forehead. They quickly drove him out of there. Indeed, he hurried to go out, because Yahweh had struck 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 Uzziah, the king, was a leper to the day of his death and lived in a separate house since he was a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. Jotham, his son, was over the king's house and ruled 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 The other matters concerning Uzziah, from first to last, were 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 So Uzziah slept with his ancestors; they buried him with his ancestors in a burial ground that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Jotham, his son, became king 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].
