Uzziah Succeeds Amaziah^(A)

26 All the people of Judah made Uzziah king in place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was sixteen years old at the time. ² He rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah^[a] had been laid to rest^[b] with his ancestors. ³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah. She was from Jerusalem. ⁴ He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, following the example set by his father Amaziah’s accomplishments. ⁵ Uzziah^[c] kept on seeking God during the lifetime of Zechariah, who taught him how to fear God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosperous.

Uzziah’s Initial Successes

⁶ One time Uzziah^[d] went out and battled the Philistines. He tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and built cities in the Ashdod area among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped Uzziah^[e] defeat the Philistines, the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his reputation extended as far as the border with Egypt as he became stronger and stronger. ⁹ Uzziah also built towers in Jerusalem, at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle^[f] and fortified them. ¹⁰ He also built watchtowers in the wilderness and had many cisterns hewed out, since he also possessed large herds, both in the Shephelah^[g] and in the midland plains. He had many farmers and vinedressers throughout the hills and fertile lands because he loved farming.^[h]

¹¹ Uzziah kept a standing army, equipped for battle, garrisoned in divisions according to an organizational structure devised by his royal secretary Jeiel and his officer Maaseiah, who reported to Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. ¹² The number of senior leaders of the ancestral houses of his elite forces numbered 2,600. ¹³ Uzziah^[i] commanded an army of 307,500 who could fight formidably on behalf of the king against any enemy. ¹⁴ In addition, Uzziah equipped the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and stones for use in slings. ¹⁵ He also had various siege engines built by skilled designers and placed them on the towers and on the corner ramparts that could fire arrows and very large stones. His reputation spread far and wide, and he was marvelously assisted until he grew very strong.

Uzziah’s Arrogance and Apostasy^(B)

¹⁶ But after he had become strong, in his arrogance he acted corruptly and became unfaithful to the Lord his God, and he dared to enter the Lord’s Temple to burn incense on the incense altar. ¹⁷ Azariah the priest ran after him, along with 80 of the Lord’s valiant priests, ¹⁸ and they opposed King Uzziah. “Uzziah, it’s not for you to burn incense to the Lord,” they told him, “but for the priests to do, Aaron’s descendants who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary now, because you have been unfaithful and won’t receive any honor from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Uzziah flew into a rage while he held in his hand a censer to burn incense. As he got angry at the priests, leprosy broke out all over his forehead right in front of the priests beside the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple. ²⁰ So Azariah the chief priest and all the priests stared at Uzziah, who was infected with leprosy in his forehead! They all rushed at him and hurried him out of the Temple. Uzziah^[j] was in a hurry to get out anyway, because the Lord had struck him.

²¹ King Uzziah remained a leper until the day he died. Because he was a leper, he lived in a separate residence and remained disqualified to enter the Lord’s Temple. His son Jotham served in the royal palace, judging the people of the land. ²² Now the rest of Uzziah’s accomplishments, from first to last, have been recorded by Amoz’s son Isaiah the prophet. ²³ Uzziah died, as had his ancestors, and they buried him alongside his ancestors in a grave in a field that belonged to the kings, because they said, “He was a leper.” Uzziah’s^[k] son Jotham became king to replace him.