⁶ Now he went out and ^(A)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 ^(B)the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ Also the Ammonites ^(C)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 ^(D)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 ^[a]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 ^[b]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 ^(E)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.

Hosea’s Unfaithful Wife

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of ^(A)Uzziah, ^(B)Jotham, ^(C)Ahaz, and ^(D)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of ^(E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

The Family of Hosea

² When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:

³ So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him:

⁶ And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:

⁸ Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹ Then God said:

The Restoration of Israel

The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People

God’s Unfaithful People

God’s Mercy on His People

Israel Will Return to God

3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a ^(AR)lover^[s] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”

² So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. ³ And I said to her, “You shall ^(AS)stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”

⁴ For the children of Israel shall abide many days ^(AT)without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ^(AU)ephod or ^(AV)teraphim. ⁵ Afterward the children of Israel shall return and ^(AW)seek the Lord their God and ^(AX)David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the ^(AY)latter days.

²⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did—his might, how he made war, and how he recaptured for Israel, from ^(A)Damascus and Hamath, ^(B)what had belonged to Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²⁹ So Jeroboam ^[a]rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. Then ^(C)Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

Zechariah Reigns in Israel

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, ^(A)Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. ⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(B)as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. ¹⁰ Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and ^(C)struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place.

¹¹ Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

¹² This was the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, ^(D)“Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was.

Shallum Reigns in Israel

¹³ Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of ^[a]Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. ¹⁴ For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from ^(E)Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place.

¹⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he ^[b]led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked ^(F)Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All ^(G)the women there who were with child he ripped open.

Menahem Reigns in Israel

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.

The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride^(A)

¹⁶ But ^(B)when he was strong his heart was ^(C)lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God ^(D)by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ So ^(E)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 ^(F)is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the ^(G)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, ^(H)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 ^(I)hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.

^21 (J)King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an ^(K)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.

Jotham Reigns in Judah^(A)

³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, ^(B)Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[a]Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.

^19 (A)Pul^[a] king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his ^[b]hand might be with him to ^(B)strengthen the kingdom under his control. ²⁰ And Menahem ^(C)exacted^[c] the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land.