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2 Chronicles 26

KJV · Chapter 26/36

1Then 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.

3Sixteen 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.

4And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did.

5And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

6And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake 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 Mehunims.

8And the Ammonites gave gifts 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 corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the 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 the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

11Moreover Uzziah had an host 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 of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.

13And under their hand was an army, three 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 shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones.

15And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

16But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

17And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men:

18And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests 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, the 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 thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the 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, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.

23So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in 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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Uzziah becomes king while still young and reigns for 52 years with great military, agricultural, and building success, seeking God faithfully for much of his reign. However, in his pride, he enters the temple to burn incense, a function reserved only for priests, and is immediately struck with leprosy, remaining isolated until his death.

Explanation

Uzziah represents one of the longest and, initially, most successful reigns of Judah, marked by military conquests, agricultural innovations, and even the development of war machines advanced for his time. However, his success feeds a dangerous pride: he decides, without authorization, to perform a priestly function reserved exclusively for the descendants of Aaron, ignoring the limits God had set even for powerful kings. His immediate punishment with leprosy, a disease that would isolate him physically for the rest of his life, is a severe reminder that even successful and generally faithful leaders are not exempt from serious consequences when they cross boundaries clearly established by God.

Fun facts

  • The prophet Isaiah, whose prophetic book opens precisely 'in the year that king Uzziah died' (Isaiah 6:1), lived through much of this king's reign, and his majestic vision of God in the temple may have been, in part, a response to the leadership crisis caused by Uzziah's isolating disease.
  • Uzziah's military innovations, including machines for shooting arrows and great stones from the towers of Jerusalem, are described as inventions of 'skillful men,' one of the first explicit biblical records of advanced, specialized military technology.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:1After Amaziah’s violent death, all the people choose Uzziah, only sixteen years old, to take the throne in his father’s place.
  2. 2 Chronicles 26:2Uzziah rebuilds the port city of Eloth and restores it to Judah’s control, after his father’s death.
  3. 2 Chronicles 26:3Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he governed fifty-five years in Jerusalem — one of the longest reigns in the book; his mother’s name was Jecoliah, of Jerusalem.
  4. 2 Chronicles 26:4The Chronicler praises Uzziah, saying he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, following the example of his father Amaziah.
  5. 2 Chronicles 26:5Uzziah seeks God throughout the days he has the guidance of Zechariah, a man well versed in the things of God, and he prospers as long as he keeps up that pursuit.
  6. 2 Chronicles 26:6Uzziah wages war against the Philistines, tears down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, and builds cities of his own in the midst of Philistine territory.
  7. 2 Chronicles 26:7God helps Uzziah both against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal and against the Meunites.
  8. 2 Chronicles 26:8Even the Ammonites come to pay tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spreads as far as the border of Egypt, so strong had his kingdom become.
  9. 2 Chronicles 26:9Uzziah builds fortified towers in Jerusalem, at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the angle of the wall.
  10. 2 Chronicles 26:10He also builds towers in the wilderness and digs many wells, because he owned a great deal of livestock; he was a man who loved farming, with plowmen and vinedressers working the fertile land.
  11. 2 Chronicles 26:11Uzziah maintains an organized army of experienced soldiers, arranged in companies under officers such as Jeiel and Maaseiah, under the authority of the official Hananiah.
  12. 2 Chronicles 26:12The total number of family heads leading these valiant warriors came to two thousand six hundred men.
  13. 2 Chronicles 26:13Under the command of these leaders was an army of three hundred seven thousand five hundred soldiers, trained to fight with great power to help the king against his enemies.
  14. 2 Chronicles 26:14Uzziah equips this entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and even slings for throwing stones.
  15. 2 Chronicles 26:15Uzziah has “engines, invented by cunning men,” built on the towers of Jerusalem to shoot arrows and large stones — one of the earliest recorded descriptions of this kind of military technology, almost like a primitive catapult.
  16. 2 Chronicles 26:16After years of success, Uzziah decides he has the right to burn incense in person inside the temple, a role reserved only for priests. The pride behind this overreach — a king wanting to do a priest’s job — is what leads to the leprosy that isolates him for the rest of his life.
  17. 2 Chronicles 26:17When Uzziah enters the temple to burn incense, the priest Azariah follows him in, along with eighty other courageous priests.
  18. 2 Chronicles 26:18The priests confront Uzziah directly: burning incense belongs exclusively to the descendants of Aaron, not to the king, and they ask him to leave the sanctuary.
  19. 2 Chronicles 26:19Uzziah becomes furious at the rebuke, and right there, censer in hand, leprosy breaks out on his forehead in front of the priests themselves, beside the altar of incense.
  20. 2 Chronicles 26:20Seeing the leprosy on the king’s forehead, the priests hurry him out of the temple, and Uzziah himself, realizing that the Lord had struck him, hurries out as well.
  21. 2 Chronicles 26:21Uzziah remains a leper until the day he dies, living isolated in a separate house and excluded from the temple; his son Jotham takes over the administration of the kingdom and begins judging the people.
  22. 2 Chronicles 26:22The rest of Uzziah’s story was recorded by the prophet Isaiah himself, son of Amoz — a direct reference to a well-known prophetic source.
  23. 2 Chronicles 26:23Uzziah dies and is buried in a field near the royal tombs, but not inside them, because of his leprosy; his son Jotham reigns in his place.

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