Judah’s King Uzziah

26 All the people^(A) of Judah took Uzziah,^[a] who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² After Amaziah the king rested with his ancestors, Uzziah rebuilt Eloth^[b](B) and restored it to Judah.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old^(C) when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He sought God^(D) throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear^[c](E) of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success.^(F)

Uzziah’s Exploits

⁶ Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines,^(G) and he tore down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Then he built cities in the vicinity of Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, the Arabs that live in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites^[d] paid tribute to Uzziah,^(H) and his fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for God made him very powerful. ⁹ Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate,^(I) the Valley Gate,^(J) and the corner buttress, and he fortified them. ¹⁰ Since he had many cattle both in the Judean foothills^[e] and the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many wells.^(K) And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands.^[f]

¹¹ Uzziah had an army equipped for combat that went out to war by division according to their assignments, as recorded by Jeiel the court secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders. ¹² The total number of family heads was 2,600 valiant warriors. ¹³ Under their authority was an army of 307,500 equipped for combat, a powerful force to help the king against the enemy.^{(L) 14} Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones. ¹⁵ He made skillfully designed devices in Jerusalem to shoot arrows and catapult large stones for use on the towers and on the corners. So his fame spread even to distant places, for he was wondrously helped until he became strong.