2 Chronicles 26
26
King Uzziah of Judah
(2 Kings 14.21,22; 15.1-7)
1-3After the death of King Amaziah, the people of Judah crowned his son Uzziah#26.1-3 Uzziah: In the parallel passages in 2 Kings, he is called “Azariah” (see also 1 Chronicles 3.10-15). He is also called “Uzziah” in 2 Kings 15.13; Isaiah 1.1; Hosea 1.1; and Amos 1.1. One of these names was probably his birth name, while the other was his name after he became king. king, even though he was only sixteen at the time. Uzziah ruled fifty-two years from Jerusalem, the home town of his mother Jecoliah. During his rule, he recaptured and rebuilt the town of Elath.
4He obeyed the LORD by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done. 5Zechariah was Uzziah's adviser and taught him to obey God. And so, as long as Zechariah was alive, Uzziah was faithful to God, and God made him successful.
6While Uzziah was king, he started a war against the Philistines. He smashed the walls of the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, then rebuilt towns around Ashdod and in other parts of Philistia. 7God helped him defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur-Baal, and the Meunites. 8Even the Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. He became very powerful, and people who lived as far away as Egypt heard about him.
9In Jerusalem, Uzziah built fortified towers at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the place where the city wall turned inward.#26.9 the place where the city wall turned inward: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 10He also built defence towers out in the desert.
He owned such a large herd of livestock in the western foothills and in the flat lands, that he had cisterns dug there to catch the rainwater. He loved farming, so he had crops and vineyards planted in the hill country wherever there was fertile soil, and he hired farmers to take care of them.
11Uzziah's army was always ready for battle. Jeiel and Maaseiah were the officers who kept track of the number of soldiers, and these two men were under the command of Hananiah, one of Uzziah's officials. 12-13There were 307,500 trained soldiers, all under the command of 2,600 clan leaders. These powerful troops protected the king against any enemy. 14Uzziah supplied his army with shields, spears, helmets, armour, bows, and stones used for slinging. 15Some of his skilled workers invented machines that could shoot arrows and sling large stones. Uzziah set these up in Jerusalem at his defence towers and at the corners of the city wall.
God helped Uzziah become more and more powerful, and he was famous all over the world.
Uzziah becomes too proud
16Uzziah became proud of his power, and this led to his downfall.
One day, Uzziah disobeyed the LORD his God by going into the temple and burning incense as an offering to him.#26.16 going into the temple and burning incense as an offering to him: This was to be done only by priests (see Exodus 30.1-10; Numbers 16.39,40). 17Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests followed Uzziah into the temple 18and said, “Your Majesty, this isn't right! You are not allowed to burn incense to the LORD. That must be done only by priests who are descendants of Aaron. You will have to leave! You have sinned against the LORD, and so he will no longer bless you.”#Ex 30.7,8; Nu 3.10.
19Uzziah, who was standing next to the incense altar at the time, was holding the incense burner, ready to offer incense to the LORD. He became very angry when he heard Azariah's warning, and leprosy#26.19 leprosy: The word translated “leprosy” was used for many different kinds of skin diseases. suddenly appeared on his forehead! 20Azariah and the other priests saw it and immediately told him to leave the temple. Uzziah realized that the LORD had punished him, so he hurried to get outside.
21Uzziah had leprosy for the rest of his life. He was no longer allowed in the temple or in his own palace. That's why his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place.
22Everything else Uzziah did while he was king is in the records written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23Since Uzziah had leprosy, he could not be buried in the royal tombs. Instead, he was buried in a nearby cemetery that the kings owned. His son Jotham then became king.#Is 6.1.
Currently Selected:
2 Chronicles 26: CEVUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
2 Chronicles 26
26
1 Then all the people of Judah appointed his son, Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, as king in place of his father, Amaziah.
2 He built up Eloth, and he restored it to the dominion of Judah. After this, the king slept with his fathers.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem.
4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, in accord with all that his father, Amaziah, had done.
5 And he sought the Lord, during the days of Zechariah, who understood and saw God. And while he was seeking the Lord, he directed him in all things.
6 Indeed, he went out and fought against the Philistines. And he destroyed the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Also, he built towns in Ashdod, and among the Philistines.
7 And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians, who were living in Gurbaal, and against the Ammonites.
8 And the Ammonites weighed out gifts to Uzziah. And his name became widely known, even to the entrance of Egypt, because of his frequent victories.
9 And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem, above the gate of the corner, and above the gate of the valley, and others on the same side of the wall, and he fortified them.
10 Then he also constructed towers in the wilderness, and dug many cisterns, because he had much cattle, both in the plains and in the starkness of the wilderness. Also, he had vineyards and dressers of vines in the mountains and at Carmel. Certainly, he was a man devoted to agriculture.
11 Now the army of his warriors, who would go forth to battle, was under the hand of Jeiel, the scribe, and Maaseiah, the teacher, and under the hand of Hananiah, who was among the king's commanders.
12 And the entire number of the leaders, by the families of strong men, was two thousand six hundred.
13 And the entire army under them was three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, who were fit for war, and who fought on behalf of the king against the adversaries.
14 Also, Uzziah prepared for them, that is, for the entire army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and breastplates, and bows, as well as slings for the casting of stones.
15 And in Jerusalem, he made various kinds of machines, which he placed in the towers, and at the corners of the walls, so as to shoot arrows and large stones. And his name went forth to far away places, for the Lord was helping him and had strengthened him.
16 But when he had become strong, his heart was lifted up, even to his own destruction. And he neglected the Lord his God. And entering into the temple of the Lord, he intended to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
17 And entering immediately after him, Azariah the priest, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, very valiant men,
18 withstood the king, and they said: "It is not your office, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord; rather, it is the office of the priests, that is, of the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated for this same ministry. Depart from the sanctuary, otherwise you will be in contempt. For this act will not be reputed to you for your glory by the Lord God."
19 And Uzziah, having become angry, while holding in his hand the censer so that he might burn incense, threatened the priests. And immediately a leprosy arose on his forehead, in the sight of the priests, in the house of the Lord, at the altar of incense.
20 And when the high priest Azariah, and all the rest of the priests, had gazed upon him, they saw the leprosy on his forehead, and they hurried to expel him. Then too, he himself, becoming terrified, rushed to depart, because immediately he had become aware of the wound of the Lord.
21 And so, king Uzziah was a leper, even until the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, being full of leprosy, because of which he had been ejected from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham, his son, directed the house of the king, and he was judging the people of the land.
22 But the rest of the words of Uzziah, the first and the last, were written by the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the field of the royal sepulchers, because he was a leper. And Jotham, his son, reigned in his place.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in