Uzziah’s Punishment for Pride

¹⁶ And as he grew strong, his heart grew more proud, leading to his destruction. Then he acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God, for he entered the temple main hall of the Lord to burn incense on the altar. ¹⁷ But Azariah the priest entered in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—men of valor. ¹⁸ And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord for it is for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave from the sanctuary because you have been unfaithful, and there will be no honor for you from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah was enraged, and in his hand was a censer for incense. And when he became angry with the priests, leprosy appeared on his forehead in front of the priests in the house of the Lord, near the altar of incense. ²⁰ Then Azariah the head priest and all the priests turned to him, and he had leprosy on his forehead; and they hastened to remove him from there, and he also hurried to leave because the Lord had struck him.

²¹ So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day of his death. He dwelt in a separate house with his unclean disease because he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the house of the king, and he governed the people of the land.

²² Now the remainder of the acts of Uzziah, from beginning to end, Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, has written them. ²³ So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field belonging to the kings because they said, “He is a leper.” And Jotham his son ruled in his place.