Chronological

Uzziah King of Judah

15 Uzziah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the 27th year that Jeroboam was king of Israel. Uzziah was the son of Amaziah. ² Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah. She was from Jerusalem. ³ Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

⁵ The Lord caused King Uzziah to suffer from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace. Jotham ruled over the people of the land.

⁶ The other events of the rule of Uzziah are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. ⁷ Uzziah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried near them in the City of David. Uzziah’s son Jotham became the next king after him.

Zechariah King of Israel

⁸ Zechariah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 38th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Zechariah ruled for six months. He was the son of Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash. ⁹ Zechariah did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did what the kings of Israel before him had done. He didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

¹⁰ Shallum made evil plans against Zechariah. He attacked Zechariah in front of the people and killed him. Then he became the next king after him. Shallum was the son of Jabesh. ¹¹ The other events of the rule of Zechariah are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ¹² What happened to Zechariah is what the Lord said would happen. He had spoken that message to Jehu. The Lord had said, “Your sons after you will sit on the throne of Israel. They will rule until the time of your children’s grandchildren.” (2 Kings 10:30)

Shallum King of Israel

¹³ Shallum became king of Israel. It was in the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Shallum ruled in Samaria for one month. He was the son of Jabesh. ¹⁴ Menahem went from Tirzah up to Samaria. There he attacked Shallum, the son of Jabesh. Menahem killed him and became the next king after him. Menahem was the son of Gadi.

¹⁵ The other events of Shallum’s rule are written down. The evil things he planned are written down. All these things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

¹⁶ At that time Menahem started out from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He attacked everyone in the city and the area around it. That’s because they refused to open their gates for him. He destroyed Tiphsah. He ripped open all their pregnant women.

Menahem King of Israel

¹⁷ Menahem became king of Israel. It was in the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Menahem ruled in Samaria for ten years. He was the son of Gadi. ¹⁸ Menahem did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire rule he didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

¹⁹ Then Tiglath-Pileser marched into the land of Israel. He was king of Assyria. Menahem gave him 38 tons of silver to get his help. He wanted to make his control over the kingdom stronger. ²⁰ Menahem forced Israel to give him that money. Every wealthy person had to give him 20 ounces of silver. All of it went to the king of Assyria. So he pulled his troops back. He didn’t stay in the land anymore.

²¹ The other events of the rule of Menahem are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ²² Menahem joined the members of his family who had already died. Menahem’s son Pekahiah became the next king after him.

Pekahiah King of Israel

²³ Pekahiah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 50th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Pekahiah ruled for two years. He was the son of Menahem. ²⁴ Pekahiah did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins. ²⁵ One of Pekahiah’s chief officers was Pekah. He was the son of Remaliah. Pekah made evil plans against Pekahiah. He took 50 men from Gilead with him and killed Pekahiah. Pekah also killed Argob and Arieh. He killed all of them in the safest place in the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah. He became the next king after him.

²⁶ The other events of the rule of Pekahiah are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

Pekah King of Israel

²⁷ Pekah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 52nd year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Pekah ruled for 20 years. He was the son of Remaliah. ²⁸ Pekah did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He didn’t turn away from the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit those same sins.

²⁹ During the rule of Pekah, the king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser marched into the land again. He was king of Assyria. He captured the towns of Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He also captured the lands of Gilead and Galilee. That included the whole territory of Naphtali. He took the people away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria. ³⁰ Then Hoshea made evil plans against Pekah, the son of Remaliah. Hoshea was the son of Elah. Hoshea attacked Pekah and killed him. Then Hoshea became the next king after him. It was in the 20th year of the rule of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.

³¹ The other events of the rule of Pekah are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

Jotham King of Judah

³² Jotham began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the second year that Pekah was king of Israel. He was the son of Remaliah. Jotham was the son of Uzziah. ³³ Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother’s name was Jerusha. She was the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple.

³⁶ The other events of the rule of Jotham are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. ³⁷ In those days the Lord began to send Rezin and Pekah against Judah. Rezin was king of Aram. Pekah was the son of Remaliah. ³⁸ Jotham joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the family tomb in the city of King David. Jotham’s son Ahaz became the next king after him.

Uzziah King of Judah

26 All the people of Judah made Uzziah king. He was 16 years old. They made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² Uzziah rebuilt Elath. He brought it under Judah’s control again. He did it after Amaziah joined the members of his family who had already died.

³ Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah. She was from Jerusalem. ⁴ Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He tried to obey God during the days of Zechariah. Zechariah taught him to have respect for God. As long as Uzziah obeyed the Lord, God gave him success.

⁶ Uzziah went to war against the Philistines. He broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. Then he rebuilt some towns that were near Ashdod. He also rebuilt some other towns where Philistines lived. ⁷ God helped him fight against the Philistines. He also helped him fight against the Meunites and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal. ⁸ The Ammonites brought to Uzziah the gifts he required of them. He became famous all the way to the border of Egypt. That’s because he had become very powerful.

⁹ Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem. They were at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate and the angle of the wall. He made the towers very strong. ¹⁰ He also built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, because he had a lot of livestock. The livestock were in the western hills and on the plains. Uzziah had people working in his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the rich lands. That’s because he loved the soil.

¹¹ Uzziah’s army was well trained. It was ready to march out by military groups according to their numbers. Jeiel and Maaseiah brought them together. Jeiel was the secretary. Maaseiah was the officer. They were under the direction of Hananiah. He was one of the royal officials. ¹² The total number of family leaders who were over the fighting men was 2,600. ¹³ An army of 307,500 men was under their command. The men were trained for war. They were a powerful force. They helped the king against his enemies. ¹⁴ Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows, and stones for their slings. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he invented machines to be used on the towers and on the corners of city walls. These machines were used by men who shot arrows from the walls. The machines were also used by men to throw large stones from the walls. Uzziah became famous everywhere. God greatly helped him until he became powerful.

¹⁶ But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride brought him down. He wasn’t faithful to the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to burn incense on the altar for burning incense. ¹⁷ Azariah the priest followed him in. So did 80 other brave priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ They stood up to Uzziah. They said, “Uzziah, it isn’t right for you to burn incense to the Lord. Only the priests are supposed to do that. They are members of the family line of Aaron. They have been set apart to burn incense. So get out of here. Leave the temple. You haven’t been faithful. The Lord God won’t honor you.”

¹⁹ Uzziah was holding a shallow cup. He was ready to burn incense in it. He became angry. He shouted at the priests in the Lord’s temple. He did it near the altar for burning incense. While he was shouting, a skin disease suddenly broke out on his forehead. ²⁰ Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him. They saw that Uzziah had a skin disease on his forehead. So they hurried him out of the temple. Actually, he himself really wanted to leave. He knew that the Lord was making him suffer.

²¹ King Uzziah had the skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house because he had the disease. And he wasn’t allowed to enter the Lord’s temple. Uzziah’s son Jotham was in charge of the palace. Jotham ruled over the people of the land.

²² The other events of Uzziah’s rule from beginning to end were written down by Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah was the son of Amoz. ²³ Uzziah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried near them in a royal burial ground. People said, “He had a skin disease.” Uzziah’s son Jotham became the next king after him.