¹² When the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar, went up on it,

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) 17} But the priest Azariah went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor;^{(B) 18} they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to make offering to the Lord, but for the priests the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to make offering. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.”^{(C) 19} Then Uzziah was enraged. Now he had a censer in his hand to make offering, and when he became enraged with the priests a defiling disease broke out on his forehead, in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense.^(D)

²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

²³ For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.^(A)

A Man of God from Judah

13 A man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer incense.^(A)

⁴ They are attached to you in order to perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; no outsider shall approach you.^{(A) 5} You yourselves shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, so that wrath may never again come upon the Israelites.^{(B) 6} It is I who now take your brother Levites from among the Israelites; they are now yours as a gift, dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service of the tent of meeting.^{(C) 7} But you and your sons with you shall diligently perform your priestly duties in all that concerns the altar and the area behind the curtain. I give your priesthood as a gift;^[a] any outsider who approaches shall be put to death.”^(D)