⁸ Asa begot ^(A)Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot ^(B)Uzziah.

^11 [a]Joram his son, ^[b]Ahaziah his son, ^[c]Joash his son,

Uzziah Reigns in Judah^(A)

26 Now all the people of Judah took ^[a]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ² He built ^[b]Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.

³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ⁴ And he did what was ^(B)right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ^5 (C)He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who ^(D)had understanding in the ^[c]visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him ^(E)prosper.

⁶ Now he went out and ^(F)made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against ^(G)the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ Also the Ammonites ^(H)brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.

⁹ And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the ^(I)Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. ¹⁰ Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in ^[d]Carmel, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹² The total number of ^[e]chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. ¹³ And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. ¹⁵ And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by ^(J)skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride^(K)

¹⁶ But ^(L)when he was strong his heart was ^(M)lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God ^(N)by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ So ^(O)Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. ¹⁸ And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It ^(P)is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the ^(Q)priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”

¹⁹ Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, ^(R)leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. ²⁰ And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also ^(S)hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.

^21 (T)King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an ^(U)isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²² Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet ^(V)Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. ^23 (W)So Uzziah ^[f]rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah^(A)

21 And ^(B)Jehoshaphat ^[a]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17 Then ^(A)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. ² And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of ^(B)Judah and in the cities of Ephraim ^(C)which Asa his father had taken. ³ Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought ^[a]the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to ^(D)the acts of Israel. ⁵ Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah ^(E)gave presents to Jehoshaphat, ^(F)and he had riches and honor in abundance. ⁶ And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover ^(G)he removed the ^[b]high places and wooden images from Judah.

⁷ Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, ^(H)to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. ^9 (I)So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ And ^(J)the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Also some of the Philistines ^(K)brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

¹² So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. ¹³ He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(L)who willingly offered himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. ¹⁹ These served the king, besides ^(M)those the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.