³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father;^[a] he did not seek the Baals ⁴ but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments and not according to the ways of Israel.^{(A) 5} Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.^{(B) 6} His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the sacred poles^[b] from Judah.^(C)

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear^[a] of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.^(A)

Pride and Apostasy

¹⁶ But when he had become strong he grew proud, to his destruction. For he acted unfaithfully toward the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to make offering on the altar of incense.^(A)