¹⁶ But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride^(A) led to his downfall.^(B) He was unfaithful^(C) to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense^(D) on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Azariah^(E) the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. ¹⁸ They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests,^(F) the descendants^(G) of Aaron,^(H) who have been consecrated to burn incense.^(I) Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy^[a](J) broke out on his forehead. ²⁰ When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

²¹ King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house^[b](K)—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness^(A) and looked down on everyone else,^(B) Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray,^(C) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself^(D) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast^(E) twice a week and give a tenth^(F) of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast^(G) and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’^(H)

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”^(I)

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.^(A)

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning^(A) after we have received the knowledge of the truth,^(B) no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire^(C) that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^{(D) 29} How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God^(E) underfoot,^(F) who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant^(G) that sanctified them,^(H) and who has insulted the Spirit^(I) of grace?^{(J) 30} For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[a](K) and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{[b](L) 31} It is a dreadful thing^(M) to fall into the hands^(N) of the living God.^(O)