2Ch 26 | NETfull | STEP | All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place.

2 Chronicles 26

Uzziah’s Reign

1 All the people of Judah took Uzziah, ^{▼▼ The parallel account in 2 Kgs 15:1–8 has the variant spelling “Azariah.”} who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 2 Uzziah ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (Uzziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah ^{▼▼ Heb “after the king”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} had passed away. ^{▼▼ “slept with his fathers.”}

3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. ^{▼▼ For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; Journey of Paul map 1-F4; Journey of Paul map 2-F4; Journey of Paul map 3-F4; Journey of Paul map 4-F4.} His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. ^{▼▼ Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”} 5 He followed ^{▼▼ Heb “sought.”} God during the lifetime of ^{▼▼ Heb “in the days of.”} Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed ^{▼▼ Heb “in the days of his seeking.”} the Lord, God caused him to succeed. ^{▼▼ Or “prosper.”}

6 Uzziah attacked ^{▼▼ Heb “went out and fought.”} the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory. ^{▼▼ Heb “in Ashdod and among the Philistines.”} 7 God helped him in his campaigns ^{▼▼ The words “in his campaigns” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons} against the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached ^{▼▼ Heb “and his name went to.”} the border of Egypt, for he grew in power.

9 Uzziah built and fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and at the Angle. ^{▼▼ On the meaning of the Hebrew word מִקְצוֹעַ (miqtsoa’), see HALOT 628 s.v. עַ(וֹ)מִקְצֹ. The term probably refers to an “angle” or “corner” somewhere on the eastern wall of Jerusalem.} 10 He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the lowlands ^{▼▼ Heb “Shephelah.”} and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel, ^{▼▼ Heb “workers and vinedressers in the hills and in Carmel.” The words “he had” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.} for he loved agriculture. ^{▼▼ Heb “for a lover of the ground he [was].”}

11 Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official. 12 The total number of family leaders who led warriors was 2,600. 13 They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend ^{▼▼ Heb “help.”} the king against his enemies. 14 Uzziah supplied shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. 15 In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful. ^{▼▼ Heb “and his name went out to a distant place, for he did extraordinarily to be helped until he was strong.”}

16 But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. ^{▼▼ Heb “his heart was high [i.e., proud] to destroy.”} He disobeyed ^{▼▼ Or “was unfaithful to.”} the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. 17 Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted ^{▼▼ Heb “stood against.”} King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed ^{▼▼ Or “been unfaithful.”} and the Lord God will not honor you!” 19 Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving ^{▼▼ Heb “angry.”} at the priests, a skin disease ^{▼▼ Traditionally “leprosy,” but this was probably a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy (technically known today as Hansen’s disease). See 2 Kgs 5:1.} appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. 20 When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at ^{▼▼ Heb “turned toward.”} him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. 21 King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, ^{▼▼ The precise meaning of בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhafshiyt, “house of [?]”) is uncertain. NASB, NIV, NRSV all have “in a separate house”; NEB has “in his own house…relieved of all duties.” For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.} afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ^{▼▼ Heb “As for the rest of the events of Uzziah, the former and the latter, Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, recorded.”} 23 Uzziah passed away ^{▼▼ Heb “lay down with his fathers.”} and was buried near his ancestors ^{▼▼ Heb “fathers.”} in a cemetery ^{▼▼ Heb “a field of burial.”} belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.) ^{▼▼ Heb “for they said, ‘He had a skin disease.’”} His son Jotham replaced him as king.