Uzziah's Pride and Punishment

16 But when (A)he was strong, (B)he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 But (C)Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, (D)“It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, (E)but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, (F)leprosy[a] broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 21 (G)And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived (H)in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, (I)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. 23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:19 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13

16 But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him.[a] He disobeyed[b] the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. 17 Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted[c] King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed[d] and the Lord God will not honor you!” 19 Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving[e] at the priests, a skin disease[f] appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. 20 When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king[g] himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. 21 King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters,[h] afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.[i] 23 Uzziah passed away[j] and was buried near his ancestors[k] in a cemetery[l] belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.)[m] His son Jotham replaced him as king.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:16 tn Heb “his heart was high [i.e., proud] until to destroy.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 26:16 tn Or “was unfaithful to.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 26:18 tn Heb “stood against.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 26:18 tn Or “been unfaithful.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 26:19 tn Heb “angry.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 26:19 tn Traditionally “leprosy,” but this was probably a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy (technically known today as Hansen’s disease). See 2 Kgs 5:1.
  7. 2 Chronicles 26:20 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. 2 Chronicles 26:21 tn The precise meaning of בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhofshit, “house of [?]”) is uncertain. NASB, NIV, NRSV all have “in a separate house”; NEB has “in his own house…relieved of all duties.” For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.
  9. 2 Chronicles 26:22 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Uzziah, the former and the latter, Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, recorded.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “fathers.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “a field of burial.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 26:23 tn Heb “for they said, ‘He had a skin disease.’”