Uzziah Is King of Judah
2 Chronicles 26, verse 1. Now all the people of the land took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 2. He built Elath and restored it to Judah after the king rested with his fathers. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 3. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 4. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to everything his father Amaziah had done. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 5. He sought the Lord in the days of Zechariah, who was wise in the fear of the Lord. And as long as he sought the Lord, the Lord made him prosper. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 6. Now he went out and made war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. And he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 7. God strengthened him against the foreigners, against the Arabs who lived in the rock, and against the Meunites. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 8. And the Meunites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 9. And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall, and he fortified them. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 10. He also built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had a great deal of livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains. He had vine-dressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved the soil. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 11. Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 12. The total number of chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 13. And the power of an expert military force, equal to three hundred seven thousand five hundred, was with them to help the king against the enemy. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 14. And for each of them in the army, Uzziah prepared shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings for stones. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 15. And in Jerusalem, he built devices invented by skilled men for the launching of javelins and large stones, and placed them on the towers and corners of the devices. And the fame of his preparing for war was heard far and wide, for he was helped marvelously till he became strong.
The Pride and Downfall of Uzziah
2 Chronicles 26, verse 16. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction; for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the incense altar. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 17. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty valiant priests of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 18. And they challenged King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have rebelled against the Lord! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.” 2 Chronicles 26, verse 19. Then Uzziah became furious with the priests while holding a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, next to the incense altar. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 20. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked on, for he was leprous on his forehead. So they thrust him out of the place. And indeed he hurried, because the Lord reproached him. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 21. King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death, and because he was a leper he dwelt in an isolated house and was excluded from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 22. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, are written by the prophet Isaiah. 2 Chronicles 26, verse 23. So Uzziah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.