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2 Chronicles 26
New English Translation

Uzziah’s Reign

26 All the people of Judah took Uzziah,[a] who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 2 Uzziah[b] built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah[c] had passed away.[d]

3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done.[e] 5 He followed[f] God during the lifetime of[g] Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed[h] the Lord, God caused him to succeed.[i]

6 Uzziah attacked[j] the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory.[k] 7 God helped him in his campaigns[l] against the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached[m] the border of Egypt, for he grew in power.

9 Uzziah built and fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and at the Angle.[n] 10 He built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the foothills[o] and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel,[p] for he loved agriculture.[q]

11 Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official. 12 The total number of family leaders who led warriors was 2,600. 13 They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend[r] the king against his enemies. 14 Uzziah supplied shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. 15 In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful.[s]

16 But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him.[t] He disobeyed[u] the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. 17 Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted[v] King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed[w] and the Lord God will not honor you!” 19 Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving[x] at the priests, a skin disease[y] appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. 20 When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king[z] himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. 21 King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters,[aa] afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.[ab] 23 Uzziah passed away[ac] and was buried near his ancestors[ad] in a cemetery[ae] belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.)[af] His son Jotham replaced him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:1 tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 15:1-8 has the variant spelling “Azariah.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 26:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Uzziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. 2 Chronicles 26:2 tn Heb “after the king”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. 2 Chronicles 26:2 tn “slept with his fathers.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 26:4 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 26:5 tn Heb “sought.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 26:5 tn Heb “in the days of.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 26:5 tn Heb “in the days of his seeking.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 26:5 tn Or “prosper.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 26:6 tn Heb “went out and fought.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 26:6 tn Heb “in Ashdod and among the Philistines.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 26:7 tn The words “in his campaigns” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  13. 2 Chronicles 26:8 tn Heb “and his name went to.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 26:9 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew word מִקְצוֹעַ (miqtsoaʿ), see HALOT 628 s.v. עַ(וֹ)מִקְצֹ. The term probably refers to an “angle” or “corner” somewhere on the eastern wall of Jerusalem.
  15. 2 Chronicles 26:10 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  16. 2 Chronicles 26:10 tn Heb “workers and vinedressers in the hills and in Carmel.” The words “he had” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  17. 2 Chronicles 26:10 tn Heb “for a lover of the ground he [was].”
  18. 2 Chronicles 26:13 tn Heb “help.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 26:15 tn Heb “and his name went out to a distant place, for he did extraordinarily to be helped until he was strong.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 26:16 tn Heb “his heart was high [i.e., proud] until to destroy.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 26:16 tn Or “was unfaithful to.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 26:18 tn Heb “stood against.”
  23. 2 Chronicles 26:18 tn Or “been unfaithful.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 26:19 tn Heb “angry.”
  25. 2 Chronicles 26:19 tn Traditionally “leprosy,” but this was probably a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy (technically known today as Hansen’s disease). See 2 Kgs 5:1.
  26. 2 Chronicles 26:20 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. 2 Chronicles 26:21 tn The precise meaning of בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhofshit, “house of [?]”) is uncertain. NASB, NIV, NRSV all have “in a separate house”; NEB has “in his own house…relieved of all duties.” For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.
  28. 2 Chronicles 26:22 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Uzziah, the former and the latter, Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, recorded.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “fathers.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “a field of burial.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “for they said, ‘He had a skin disease.’”
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2 Chronicles 26
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 26

Uzziah’s Projects. 1 (A)All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was only sixteen years old, and made him king to succeed Amaziah his father. 2 It was he who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his ancestors. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the Lord’s sight, just as his father Amaziah had done.

5 He was prepared to seek God as long as Zechariah[a] lived,(B) who taught him to fear God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. 6 He went out and fought the Philistines and razed the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and built cities in the district of Ashdod and in Philistia.(C) 7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame spread as far as Egypt, for he grew stronger and stronger. 9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he fortified them. 10 He built towers in the wilderness and dug numerous cisterns, for he had many cattle. He had plowmen in the Shephelah and the plains, farmers and vinedressers in the highlands and the garden land. He was a lover of the soil.

11 Uzziah also had a standing army of fit soldiers divided into bands according to the number in which they were mustered by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the recorder, under the command of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials. 12 The entire number of family heads over these valiant warriors was two thousand six hundred, 13 and at their disposal was a mighty army of three hundred seven thousand five hundred fighting men of great valor to help the king against his enemies. 14 Uzziah provided for them—for the entire army—bucklers, lances, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones. 15 He also built machines in Jerusalem, devices designed to stand on the towers and at the angles of the walls to shoot arrows and cast large stones. His name spread far and wide; the help he received was wondrous, so strong did he become.

Pride and Fall. 16 But after he had become strong, he became arrogant to his own destruction and acted treacherously with the Lord, his God. He entered the temple of the Lord to make an offering on the altar of incense. 17 But Azariah the priest, and with him eighty other priests of the Lord, courageous men, followed him. 18 They stood up to King Uzziah, saying to him: “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated for this purpose.(D) Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted treacherously and no longer have a part in the glory that comes from the Lord God.” 19 Uzziah, who was holding a censer for burning the incense, became angry. But at the very moment he showed his anger to the priests, while they were looking at him in the house of the Lord beside the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.(E) 20 Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests examined him, and when they saw that his forehead was leprous, they rushed him out. He let himself be expelled, for the Lord had afflicted him. 21 (F)King Uzziah remained a leper till the day he died. As a leper he lived in a house apart, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. Therefore his son Jotham was master of the palace and ruled the people of the land.

22 The rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, were written by Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz. 23 Uzziah rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the field adjoining the royal cemetery, for they said, “He was a leper.” His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 26:5 Zechariah: not otherwise identified, but cf. 29:1.
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