דברי הימים ב 26

1 ויקחו כל עם יהודה את עזיהו והוא בן שש עשרה שנה וימליכו אתו תחת אביו אמציהו

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 הוא בנה את אילות וישיבה ליהודה אחרי שכב המלך עם אבתיו

3 בן שש עשרה שנה עזיהו במלכו וחמשים ושתים שנה מלך בירושלם ושם אמו יכיליה (יכליה) מן ירושלם

Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.

4 ויעש הישר בעיני יהוה ככל אשר עשה אמציהו אביו

Uzziah did things that Yahweh considered to be good, like his father Amaziah had done.

5 ויהי לדרש אלהים בימי זכריהו המבין בראת האלהים ובימי דרשו את יהוה הצליחו האלהים

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 ויצא וילחם בפלשתים ויפרץ את חומת גת ואת חומת יבנה ואת חומת אשדוד ויבנה ערים באשדוד ובפלשתים

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 ויעזרהו האלהים על פלשתים ועל הערביים (הערבים) הישבים בגור בעל--והמעונים

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 ויתנו העמונים מנחה לעזיהו וילך שמו עד לבוא מצרים כי החזיק עד למעלה

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 ויבן עזיהו מגדלים בירושלם על שער הפנה ועל שער הגיא ועל המקצוע ויחזקם

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 ויבן מגדלים במדבר ויחצב ברות רבים--כי מקנה רב היה לו ובשפלה ובמישור אכרים וכרמים בהרים ובכרמל--כי אהב אדמה היה

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 ויהי לעזיהו חיל עשה מלחמה יוצאי צבא לגדוד במספר פקדתם ביד יעואל (יעיאל) הסופר ומעשיהו השוטר--על יד חנניהו משרי המלך

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 כל מספר ראשי האבות לגבורי חיל--אלפים ושש מאות

There were 2,600 leaders of those groups of soldiers.

13 ועל ידם חיל צבא שלש מאות אלף ושבעת אלפים וחמש מאות עושי מלחמה בכח חיל--לעזר למלך על האויב

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 ויכן להם עזיהו לכל הצבא מגנים ורמחים וכובעים ושרינות וקשתות--ולאבני קלעים

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 ויעש בירושלם חשבנות מחשבת חושב להיות על המגדלים ועל הפנות לירוא בחצים ובאבנים גדלות ויצא שמו עד למרחוק כי הפליא להעזר עד כי חזק

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 וכחזקתו גבה לבו עד להשחית וימעל ביהוה אלהיו ויבא אל היכל יהוה להקטיר על מזבח הקטרת

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 ויבא אחריו עזריהו הכהן ועמו כהנים ליהוה שמונים--בני חיל

Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and 80 other brave priests followed him into the temple.

18 ויעמדו על עזיהו המלך ויאמרו לו לא לך עזיהו להקטיר ליהוה--כי לכהנים בני אהרן המקדשים להקטיר צא מן המקדש כי מעלת ולא לך לכבוד מיהוה אלהים

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 ויזעף עזיהו ובידו מקטרת להקטיר ובזעפו עם הכהנים והצרעת זרחה במצחו לפני הכהנים בבית יהוה מעל למזבח הקטרת

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 ויפן אליו עזריהו כהן הראש וכל הכהנים והנה הוא מצרע במצחו ויבהלוהו משם וגם הוא נדחף לצאת כי נגעו יהוה

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 ויהי עזיהו המלך מצרע עד יום מותו וישב בית החפשות (החפשית) מצרע--כי נגזר מבית יהוה ויותם בנו על בית המלך שופט את עם הארץ

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 ויתר דברי עזיהו הראשנים והאחרנים--כתב ישעיהו בן אמוץ הנביא

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 וישכב עזיהו עם אבתיו ויקברו אתו עם אבתיו בשדה הקבורה אשר למלכים--כי אמרו מצורע הוא וימלך יותם בנו תחתיו

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].