2 Chronicles 26
1 After King Amaziah died, all the people of Judah appointed his son Uzziah, who then was 16 years old, as their king. [One of the things that happened] while he was the king [was that] his men captured Elath [town on the Gulf of Aqaba] and rebuilt it.
And all the people of Juda took his son Ozias, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of Amasias his father.
He built Ailath, and restored it to the dominion of Juda, after that the king slept with his fathers.
3 Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
Ozias was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jechelia of Jerusalem.
4 Uzziah did things that Yahweh considered to be good, like his father Amaziah had done.
And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Amasias his father had done.
5 He tried to please God while [the priest] Zechariah was living, because Zechariah taught him to revere God. As long as Uzziah tried to please God, God enabled him to be successful.
And he sought the Lord in the days of Zacharias that understood and saw God: and as long as he sought the Lord, he directed him in all things.
6 Uzziah and his army started to fight against the army of Philistia. They tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod [cities]. Then they rebuilt the towns near Ashdod and in other places in Philistia.
Moreover he went forth and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Geth, and the wall of Jabnia, and the wall of Azotus: and he built towns in Azotus, and among the Philistines.
7 God helped them to fight the army of Philistia and the Arabs who lived in [the town of] Gur-Baal and the descendants of Meun who had come to that area from Edom.
And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians, that dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Ammonites.
8 Even the Ammon [people-group] paid taxes to Uzziah each year. So Uzziah became famous as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
And the ammonites gave gifts to Ozias: and his name was spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt for his frequent victories.
9 Uzziah’s [workers] built watchtowers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the place where the wall turns, and they placed weapons in them.
And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem over the gate of the corner, and over the gate of the valley, and the rest, in the same side of the wall, and fortified them.
10 They also built watchtowers in the desert and dug many wells. They did that [to provide water] for a lot of the king’s cattle that were in the foothills and in the plains. Uzziah liked farming, so he also stationed workers [to take care of] his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile areas.
And he built towers in the wilderness, and dug many cisterns, for he had much cattle both in the plains, and in the waste of the desert: he had also vineyards and dressers of vines in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he was a man that loved husbandry.
11 Uzziah’s army was trained for fighting battles. They were in groups that were always ready to go into battle. Jeiel, the king’s secretary, and Maaseiah, one of the army officers, counted the men and placed them in groups. Hananiah, one of the king’s officials, was their commander.
And the army of his fighting men, that went out to war, was under the hand of Jehiel the scribe, and Maasias the doctor, and under the hand of Henanias, who was one of the king’s captains.
12 There were 2,600 leaders of those groups of soldiers.
And the whole number of the chiefs by the families of valiant men were two thousand six hundred.
13 In the groups that those leaders commanded there were a total of 307,500 well-trained soldiers. It was a very powerful army which was ready to help the king fight against his enemies.
And the whole army under them three hundred and seven thousand five hundred: who were fit for war, and fought for the king against the enemy.
14 Uzziah gave to each soldier a shield, a spear, a helmet, a vest made of iron plates, a bow [and arrows], and a slingshot.
And Ozias prepared for them, that is, for the whole army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones.
15 In Jerusalem his skilled workers made machines to put on the watchtowers and on the corners [of the walls], to shoot arrows and to hurl large stones. He became very famous even in distant places, because God helped him very much and enabled him to become very powerful.
And he made in Jerusalem engines of diverse kinds, which he placed in the towers, and in the corners of the walls, to shoot arrows, and great stones: and his name went forth far abroad, for the Lord helped him, and had strengthened him.
16 But because Uzziah was very powerful, he became very proud, and that led to his being punished. He disobeyed what Yahweh his God had commanded. He went into the temple to burn incense on the altar [where God had said that only the priests should burn] incense.
But when he was made strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, and he neglected the Lord his God: and going into the temple of the Lord, he had a mind to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
17 Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and 80 other brave priests followed him into the temple.
And immediately Azarias the priest going in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, most valiant men,
18 They rebuked him and said to him, “Uzziah, it is not right for you to burn incense to [honor] Yahweh. That duty is only for the priests, those who are descendants of Aaron [our first Supreme Priest]! You must leave [immediately], because you have disobeyed Yahweh our God, and he will not honor you [for what you have done]!”
Withstood the king and said: It doth not belong to thee, Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, but to the priests, that is, to the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated for this ministry: go out of the sanctuary, do not despise: for this thing shall not be accounted to thy glory by the Lord God.
19 Uzziah had in his hand a pan for burning incense. He became very angry with the priests, but suddenly there was leprosy on his forehead.
And Ozias was angry, and holding in his hand the censer to burn incense, threatened the priests. And presently there rose a leprosy in his forehead before the priests, in the house of the Lord at the altar of incense.
20 When Azariah the [Supreme] Priest and all the other priests [who were there] looked at him, they saw the leprosy on his forehead, so they quickly took him outside. And truly the king was eager to leave the temple, because he knew that it was Yahweh who had caused him to have that leprosy, [and he did not want it to become worse.]
And Azarias the high priest, and all the rest of the priests looked upon him, and saw the leprosy in his forehead, and they made haste to thrust him out. Yea himself also being frightened, hasted to go out, because he had quickly felt the stroke of the Lord.
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until he died. And because he had leprosy, he lived in a house that was not near other houses, and he was not allowed to enter [the courtyard of] the temple. His son Jotham supervised the palace and ruled the people of Judah.
And Ozias the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelt in a house apart being full of the leprosy, for which he had been cast out of the house of the Lord. And Joatham his son governed the king’s house, and judged the people of the land.
22 A record of all the other things that Uzziah did while he was the king [of Judah] was written by the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
But the rest of the acts of Ozias first and last were written by Isaias the son of Amos, the prophet.
23 Because Uzziah was a leper, [when he died, ] they would not bury him in the tombs where the other kings were buried. Instead, he was buried in a nearby cemetery that the kings owned. Then his son Jotham became the king [of Judah].
And Ozias slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the field of the royal sepulchres, because he was a leper: and Joatham his son reigned in his stead.
