1 ARST All the people took Uzziah and made him their king, in the place of his father Amaziah. Uzziah was sixteen years old at that time. BSB BSB: All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
2 ARST While he was the king, after his father King Amaziah had died, he had his workers rebuild the city of Elath and brought that city under the protection of Judah. BSB BSB: Uzziah was the one who rebuilt Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers.
3 ARST Uzziah ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
4 ARST Uzziah did the things that Yahweh said were good, like his father Amaziah had done. BSB BSB: And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.
5 ARST He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah. Zechariah is the one who taught him to give honor to God. For as long as he sought Yahweh, God made him successful. BSB BSB: He sought God throughout the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
6 ARST Uzziah and his army went to attack the army of Philistia. They tore down the walls of the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then they rebuilt the cities near Ashdod and in other places in Philistia. BSB BSB: Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
7 ARST God helped them to fight the army of Philistia and the Arabs who lived in the city of Gur Baal, and the descendants of Meun who had come to that area from Edom. BSB BSB: God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs living in Gur-baal, and against the Meunites.
8 ARST 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. BSB BSB: The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, for he had become exceedingly powerful.
9 ARST 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 those towers. BSB BSB: Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.
10 ARST They also built watchtowers in the wilderness 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 was very interested in farming, so he also stationed workers to take care of his fields, vineyards in the hills, and in the fertile areas. BSB BSB: Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
11 ARST Uzziah’s army was trained for fighting battles. They were in groups that were always ready to go into battles. 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. BSB BSB: Uzziah had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officers.
12 ARST The total number of the family leaders who led the strongest soldiers in battle was 2,600 in number. BSB BSB: The total number of family leaders of the mighty men of valor was 2,600.
13 ARST In the groups that those leaders commanded there was a total of 307,500 well-trained soldiers. It was a very powerful army, ready to fight the king’s enemies. BSB BSB: Under their authority was an army of 307,500 trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.
14 ARST Uzziah gave to each soldier a shield, a spear, a helmet, a vest made of iron plates, a bow and arrows, and a sling for throwing stones. BSB BSB: Uzziah supplied the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones.
15 ARST 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. BSB BSB: And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was helped tremendously until he became powerful.
16 ARST But because Uzziah was very powerful, he became very proud, and that caused him to be 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. BSB BSB: But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
17 ARST Azariah, the high priest, and eighty other brave priests followed him into the temple. BSB BSB: Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the LORD, went in after him.
18 ARST They rebuked him and said to him, “Uzziah, it is not right for you to burn incense to Yahweh because you are not set apart to serve as a priest, and only a priest can burn incense to Yahweh. The priests are the descendants of Aaron our first high priest, and you are not one of them! You must leave immediately, because you have disobeyed Yahweh our God, and he will not honor you for what you have done!” BSB BSB: They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.”
19 ARST Now Uzziah was holding in his hand a pan for burning incense, and he became very angry with the priests. While he was expressing his anger, while he stood beside the altar of incense in front of the priests, suddenly spots of leprosy appeared on his forehead. BSB BSB: Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
20 ARST When Azariah the high 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. BSB BSB: When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him.
21 ARST King Uzziah had leprosy until he died. 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. BSB BSB: So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace and governed the people of the land.
22 ARST A record of all the other things that Uzziah did while he was the king of Judah was written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. BSB BSB: As for the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from beginning to end, they are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
23 ARST Because Uzziah was a leper, when he died they would not bury him in the royal tombs. Instead, they buried him in a nearby cemetery that the kings owned. Then his son Jotham became the king of Judah. BSB BSB: And Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field of burial that belonged to the kings, for the people said, “He was a leper.” And his son Jotham reigned in his place.
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