2 Chronicles 26

1All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.

2He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king lay down with his fathers.

3Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.

4He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

5He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who had insight into the visions of God, and as long as he sought Yahweh, God prospered him.

6He set out and fought the Philistines, breached the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities in Ashdod and among the Philistines.

7God came to his aid against the Philistines, and against the Arabians dwelling in Gur-Baal, and the Meunim.

8The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his name spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he grew exceedingly strong.

9Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, at the valley gate, and at the wall's turning, and strengthened them.

10He built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had abundant livestock in the lowlands and the plains, farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and Carmel, because he loved the soil.

11Uzziah had a force of warriors for battle who went out with the army in companies, according to the number of their muster recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the overseer, under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.

12The complete number of the chief fathers, champions of valor, was two thousand six hundred.

13Under their hand was an army host of three hundred thousand, seven thousand, and five hundred warriors who waged war with power and might to help the king against the enemy.

14Uzziah equipped them, for all the army, with shields, javelins, helmets, breastplates, bows, and sling stones.

15In Jerusalem he made ingenious engines devised by inventors, to mount on the towers and corners for shooting arrows and great stones. His name spread afar because he was wondrously helped until he grew strong.

16But when he grew strong, his heart turned arrogant to the point of corruption, and he rebelled against Yahweh his God by entering the temple of Yahweh to burn incense on the incense altar.

17Azariah the priest entered after him, with eighty valiant priests of Yahweh.

18They confronted Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not yours, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but the priests, sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have trespassed; it will not bring you glory from Yahweh God."

19Uzziah grew angry, a censer in his hand to burn incense, and while he raged against the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead before them in Yahweh's house, beside the incense altar.

20Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; they hurried him out from there, and he himself pressed to depart too, because Yahweh had struck him.

21Uzziah the king was leprous until the day of his death and lived in a house set apart, leprous as he was, because he had been excluded from Yahweh's house, while Jotham his son managed the king's house, governing the people of the land.

22Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet wrote the rest of Uzziah's acts, first and last.

23Uzziah rested with his fathers, and they buried him alongside his fathers in the kings' burial field, because they said, "He is a leper." Jotham his son reigned in his place.