2 Chronicles 26–32

26^*Then all the people of Judah took ^||Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. ²He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

^3aSixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ^4aAnd he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did. ⁵And ^bhe sought God in the days of Zechariah, who ^chad understanding ^†in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. ⁶And he went forth and ^dwarred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of ^eGath, and the wall of ^fJabneh, and the wall of ^gAshdod, and built cities ^||about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. ⁷And God helped him against the ^hPhilistines, and against the ^hArabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the ⁱMehunims. ⁸And the ^kAmmonites gave ^lgifts to Uzziah: and his name ^†spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly. ⁹Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the ^mcorner gate, and at the ⁿvalley gate, and at ^othe turning of the wall, and ^||fortified them. ¹⁰Also he built towers in the desert, and ^||digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in ^pthe plains: ^qhusbandmen also, and ^qvine dressers in the mountains, and in ^||rCarmel: for he loved ^†husbandry. ¹¹Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by ^sbands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ^truler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹²The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred. ¹³And under their hand was ^†an army, ^uthree hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host ^xshields, and ^xspears, and ^yhelmets, and ^yzhabergeons, and ^xbows, and ^†slings to cast stones. ¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem ^aengines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the ^bbulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name ^†spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

¹⁶But ^cwhen he was strong, ^dhis heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into ^ethe temple of the Lord ^fto burn incense upon ^ethe altar of incense. ^17*And ^gAzariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were ^hvaliant men: ¹⁸And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, ⁱIt appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the ^kpriests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. ¹⁹Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, ^lthe leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from 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 ^mthrust him out from thence; yea, himself ⁿhasted also to go out, because ^othe Lord had smitten him. ²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a ^†several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. ²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, ^pfirst and last, did ^qIsaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. ²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers ^rin the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

27^*Jotham ^awas twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit ^bhe entered not into the temple of the Lord. And the people did yet corruptly. ³He built the ^chigh gate of the house of the Lord, and on the wall of ^d||Ophel he built much. ⁴Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built ^ecastles and towers. ⁵He fought also with the king of the ^fAmmonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand ^gmeasures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. ^†So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third. ⁶So Jotham became mighty, ^hbecause he ^||prepared his ways before the Lord his God. ⁷ⁱNow the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ^8kHe was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ^9*lAnd Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

28^*Ahaz ^awas twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father: ²For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also ^bmolten images for ^cBaalim. ³Moreover he ^||burnt incense in ^dthe valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt ^ehis children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. ⁴He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. ^5*Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they ^esmote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to ^†Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. ⁶For ^fPekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all ^†valiant men; because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. ⁷And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah ^gthe king’s son, and Azrikam ^gthe governor of the house, and Elkanah that was ^†next to the king. ⁸And the children of Israel carried away captive of their ^hbrethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, ⁱbecause the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that ^jreacheth up unto heaven. ¹⁰And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God? ¹¹Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you. ¹²Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and ^kJehizkiah the son of ^lShallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, ¹³And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the Lord already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel. ¹⁴So ^mthe armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. ¹⁵And the men ⁿwhich were 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 ^ogave them to eat and to drink, and ^panointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, ^qthe city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

^16*rAt that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. ¹⁷For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away ^†captives. ¹⁸The ^sPhilistines also had ^tinvaded the cities of ^uthe low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken ^wBeth-shemesh, and ^xAjalon, and ^yGederoth, and ^zShocho with the ^avillages thereof, and ^bTimnah with the ^avillages thereof, Gimzo also and the ^avillages thereof: and they dwelt there. ¹⁹For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of ^cIsrael; for he ^dmade Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord. ^20*And ^eTilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. ^21fFor Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not.

²²And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this is that king Ahaz. ²³For ^ghe sacrificed unto the gods of ^†Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, ^hthat they may help me. But they ⁱwere the ruin of him, and of all ^cIsrael. ²⁴And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and ^jcut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and ^kshut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and ^lhe made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵And in every several city of Judah he made high places ^||to burn incense unto other gods, and ^mprovoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers. ²⁶ⁿNow the rest of his acts and of all his ways, ^ofirst and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷And Ahaz…