2 Chronicles 26

26 ¹Then all the people of Judah made Uzziah, sixteen years old, king in place of his father Amaziah. ²He rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king rested with his ancestors. ³Uzziah became king at sixteen and reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ⁴He did what was right in our Father's eyes, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵He devoted himself to seeking our Father in Zechariah's days, who taught him to fear our Father; and while he sought our Father, he prospered.

⁶He went out and fought the Philistines, tearing down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷Our Father helped him against the Philistines, the Arabs of Gur-baal, and the Meunites. ⁸The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame reached the border of Egypt, for he had grown very strong. ⁹Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the Angle, and fortified them. ^a a v9 The Angle was a specific projecting section of Jerusalem's city wall, distinct from the named gates. ¹⁰He built desert towers and dug many cisterns, for he had large herds in the lowlands and plain. He kept farmers and vinedressers in the hills and fertile fields, for he loved the soil. ¹¹Uzziah had an army of trained soldiers going out to war by divisions, numbered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under Hananiah, one of the king's commanders. ¹²The total number of clan leaders commanding the mighty warriors was 2,600. ¹³Under their command was an army of 307,500, trained to make war with great power, to help the king against his enemies. ¹⁴Uzziah equipped the whole army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows, and slingstones. ¹⁵In Jerusalem he made devices invented by skilled men, set on the towers and corners to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was helped wonderfully until he grew strong.

Uzziah's Pride and His Ruin

¹⁶When Uzziah grew strong, his heart grew proud, leading to his ruin. He was unfaithful to our Father, entering the temple of our Father to burn incense on the incense altar. ¹⁷Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty courageous priests of our Father. ¹⁸They confronted King Uzziah, saying, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to our Father, but for the priests, Aaron's descendants, dedicated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary; you have been unfaithful, and this brings you no honor from our Father."

¹⁹Uzziah became furious. With a censer in his hand to burn incense, as he raged at the priests, a defiling skin disease broke out on his forehead—there before the priests in the house of our Father, beside the altar of incense. ²⁰When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw the disease on his forehead, they rushed him out, and he hurried to leave, because our Father had struck him. ²¹King Uzziah had the disease until his death. He lived in a separate house, still diseased, cut off from the house of our Father. His son Jotham ran the palace, governing the people of the land.

²²The rest of Uzziah's acts, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz recorded. ²³Uzziah rested with his ancestors, buried near them in a burial field belonging to the kings, for they said, "He had a skin disease." His son Jotham reigned in his place.