Pride Is Uzziah’s Undoing

16 But (A)when he became strong, his heart was so [a]proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for (B)he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Then (C)Azariah the priest entered after him, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, valiant men. 18 (D)They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “(E)It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, (F)but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been untrue and will have no honor from the Lord God.” 19 But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, (G)leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense. 20 Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they quickly removed him from there, and he himself also hurried to get out because the Lord had stricken him. 21 (H)King Uzziah had leprosy to the day of his death; and he lived in (I)a separate house, afflicted as he was with leprosy, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. And his son Jotham was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, the first to the last, the prophet (J)Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written. 23 So Uzziah [b]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers (K)in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He had leprosy.” And his son Jotham became king in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:16 Lit high
  2. 2 Chronicles 26:23 I.e., died

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.

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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.’”