2 Chronicles 26-28

New King James Version

Uzziah Reigns in Judah^(A)

26 Now all the people of Judah took ^[a]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ² He built ^[b]Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ⁴ And he did what was ^(B)right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ^5 (C)He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who ^(D)had understanding in the ^[c]visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him ^(E)prosper.

⁶ Now he went out and ^(F)made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against ^(G)the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ Also the Ammonites ^(H)brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

⁹ And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the ^(I)Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. ¹⁰ Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in ^[d]Carmel, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹² The total number of ^[e]chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. ¹³ And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. ¹⁵ And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by ^(J)skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride^(K)

¹⁶ But ^(L)when he was strong his heart was ^(M)lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God ^(N)by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ So ^(O)Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. ¹⁸ And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It ^(P)is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the ^(Q)priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, ^(R)leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. ²⁰ And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also ^(S)hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.

^21 (T)King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an ^(U)isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet ^(V)Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. ^23 (W)So Uzziah ^[f]rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jotham Reigns in Judah^(X)

27 Jotham ^(Y)was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[g]Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the Lord). But still ^(Z)the people acted corruptly.

³ He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord, and he built extensively on the wall of ^(AA)Ophel. ⁴ Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. ⁵ He also fought with the king of the ^(AB)Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. ⁶ So Jotham became mighty, ^(AC)because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ^9 (AD)So Jotham ^[h]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then ^(AE)Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

Ahaz Reigns in Judah^(AF)

28 Ahaz ^(AG)was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. ² For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made ^(AH)molded images for ^(AI)the Baals. ³ He burned incense in ^(AJ)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned ^(AK)his children in the ^(AL)fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had ^(AM)cast out before the children of Israel. ⁴ And he sacrificed and burned incense on the ^[i]high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Syria and Israel Defeat Judah^(AN)

⁵ Therefore ^(AO)the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They ^(AP)defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. ⁶ For ^(AQ)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, ^(AR)because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. ⁷ Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was second to the king. ⁸ And the children of Israel carried away captive of their ^(AS)brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much ^[j]spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Israel Returns the Captives

⁹ But a ^(AT)prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: “Look, ^(AU)because the Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but you have killed them in a rage that ^(AV)reaches up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your ^(AW)male and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, ^(AX)for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

¹² Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war, ¹³ and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the Lord. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the ^[k]spoil before the leaders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men ^(AY)who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the ^[l]spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, ^(AZ)gave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, ^(BA)the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Assyria Refuses to Help Judah^(BB)

^16 (BC)At the same time King Ahaz sent to the ^[m]kings of Assyria to help him. ¹⁷ For again the ^(BD)Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives. ^18 (BE)The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there. ¹⁹ For the Lord ^[n]brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of ^(BF)Israel, for he had ^(BG)encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ Also ^(BH)Tiglath-Pileser^[o] king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. ²¹ For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.

Apostasy and Death of Ahaz^(BI)

²² Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. ²³ For ^(BJ)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them ^(BK)that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. ²⁴ So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, ^(BL)shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ And in every single city of Judah he made ^[p]high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.

^26 (BM)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ So Ahaz ^[q]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they ^(BN)did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.