2 Chronicles 26–32

Uzziah King of Judah

26:1-4^pp — 2Ki 14:21–22; 15:1–3 26:21-23^pp — 2Ki 15:5–7

Then all the people of Judah^a took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors.

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.^b As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.^c

He went to war against the Philistines^d and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod.^e He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs^f who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.^g The Ammonites^h brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate,ⁱ at the Valley Gate^j and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army.^k In Jerusalem he made devices designed by skilled workers for use on the towers and on the corner defenses so that soldiers could shoot arrows and hurl large stones from the walls. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride^l led to his downfall.^m He was unfaithfulⁿ to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense^o on the altar of incense. Azariah^p the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests,^q the descendants^r of Aaron,^s who have been consecrated to burn incense.^t Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy^u broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house^v—leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah^w son of Amoz. Uzziah^x rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in a cemetery that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.^y

Jotham King of Judah

27:1-4,7-9^pp — 2Ki 15:33–38

Jotham^a was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel.^b He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas.

Jotham made war on the king of the Ammonites^c and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand cors of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years.

Jotham grew powerful^d because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.

The other events in Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and the other things he did, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.

Ahaz King of Judah

28:1-27^pp — 2Ki 16:1–20

Ahaz^a was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols^b for worshiping the Baals. He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^c and sacrificed his children^d in the fire, engaging in the detestable^e practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram.^f The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus.

He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. In one day Pekah^g son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah^h—because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites in Judahⁱ two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.^j

But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry^k with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.^l And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves.^m But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.ⁿ”

Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war. “You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”

So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink,^o and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms,^p and returned to Samaria.^q

At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria^r for help. The Edomites^s had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,^t while the Philistines^u had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon^v and Gederoth,^w as well as Soko,^x Timnah^y and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful^z to the Lord. Tiglath-Pileser^a king of Assyria^b came to him, but he gave him trouble^c instead of help.^d Ahaz^e took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.^f

In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful^g to the Lord. He offered sacrifices to the gods^h of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.”ⁱ But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.^j

Ahaz gathered together the furnishings^k from the temple of God^l and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors^m of the Lord’s temple and set up altarsⁿ at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Ahaz rested^o with his ancestors and was buried^p in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

Hezekiah Purifies the Temple

29:1-2^pp — 2Ki 18:2–3

Hezekiah^a was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David^b had done.

In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired^c them. He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate^d yourselves now and consecrate the temple…