2 Chronicles 26–32

Chapter 26

¹And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ²It was he that built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. ³Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ⁴And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. ⁵And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and in the days that he sought Jehovah, God made him to prosper. ⁶And he went forth and fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. ⁷And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-Baal, and the Maonites. ⁸And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad to the entrance of Egypt; for he became exceeding strong. ⁹And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the angle, and fortified them. ¹⁰And he built towers in the desert and digged many cisterns; for he had much cattle, both in the lowland and on the plateau, husbandmen also and vinedressers on the mountains and in Carmel; for he loved husbandry. ¹¹And Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹²The whole number of the chief fathers of the mighty men of valour was two thousand six hundred. ¹³And under their hand was an army-host of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them, throughout the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and even slinging-stones. ¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem machines invented by skilful men, to be upon the towers and upon the bulwarks, wherewith to shoot arrows and great stones. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he became strong.

¹⁶But when he became strong his heart was lifted up to his downfall; and he transgressed against Jehovah his God, and went into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the altar of incense. ¹⁷And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah, eighty valiant men; ¹⁸and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It is not for thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to Jehovah, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast transgressed; neither shall it be for thine honour from Jehovah Elohim. ¹⁹And Uzziah was wroth; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah, beside the incense altar. ²⁰And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; even he himself hasted to go out, because Jehovah had smitten him. ²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of Jehovah. And Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. ²²And the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz write. ²³And Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the burial-ground of the kings, for they said, He is a leper. And Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 27

¹Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerushah, daughter of Zadok. ²And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; only he entered not into the temple of Jehovah. And the people still acted corruptly. ³It was he who built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and on the wall of Ophel he built much. ⁴And he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers. ⁵And he fought against the king of the children of Ammon, and overcame them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. This the children of Ammon brought again to him also in the second year, and in the third. ⁶And Jotham became strong, for he prepared his ways before Jehovah his God. ⁷And the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 28

¹Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not what was right in the sight of Jehovah, like David his father, ²but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and even made molten images for the Baals; ³and he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed from before the children of Israel. ⁴And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. ⁵Therefore Jehovah his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

⁶And Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken Jehovah the God of their fathers. ⁷And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king. ⁸And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took away also much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹But a prophet of Jehovah was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because Jehovah the God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he gave them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. ¹⁰And now ye think to subjugate the children of Judah and Jerusalem as your bondmen and bondwomen. Are there not with you, even with you, trespasses against Jehovah your God? ¹¹And now hear me, and send back the captives again, whom ye have taken captive of your brethren; for the fierce wrath of Jehovah is upon you. ¹²And certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Hezekiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, ¹³and said to them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither; because, for our guilt before Jehovah, ye think to increase our sins and our trespasses: for our trespass is great, and fierce wrath is upon Israel. ¹⁴Then the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. ¹⁵And the men that have been expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them on asses, and brought them to Jericho the city of palm-trees, to their brethren. And they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶At that time king Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him. ¹⁷And again the Edomites came and smote Judah, and carried away captives. ¹⁸And the Philistines invaded the cities of the lowland, and of the south of Judah, and took Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Socho and its dependent villages, and Timnah and its dependent villages, and Guimzo and its dependent villages; and they dwelt there. ¹⁹For Jehovah humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah lawless, and transgressed much against Jehovah. ²⁰And Tilgath-Pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and troubled him, and did not support him. ²¹For Ahaz stripped the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave to the king of Assyria; but he was of no help to him. ²²And in the time of his trouble he transgressed yet more against Jehovah, this king Ahaz. ²³And he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which had smitten him; and he said, Since the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. ²⁴And Ahaz gathered the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and closed the doors of the house of Jehovah, and he made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger Jehovah the God of his fathers. ²⁶And the rest of his acts, and all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 29

¹Hezekiah began to reign being twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. ²And he did what was right in…