1 Meanwhile, all the people of Y’hudah had taken ‘Uziyahu at the age of sixteen and made him king in place of his father Amatzyahu.
2 He recovered Eilot for Y’hudah and rebuilt it; it was after this that the king [Amatzyahu] slept with his ancestors.
3 ‘Uziyahu was sixteen years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for fifty-two years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Y’kholyahu, from Yerushalayim.
4 He did what was right fromAdonai’s perspective, following the example of everything his father Amatzyahu had done.
5 He consulted God during the lifetime of Z’kharyahu, who understood visions of God; and as long as he consultedAdonai, God gave him success.
6 He went out to fight the P’lishtim, breaking down the walls of Gat, Yavneh and Ashdod; and he built cities in the area of Ashdod and among the P’lishtim.
7 God helped him against the P’lishtim, against the Arabs living in Gur-Ba‘al, and against the Me‘unim.
8 The ‘Amonim brought tribute to ‘Uziyahu, and his fame spread abroad as far as the Egyptian frontier, since he kept growing stronger.
9 ‘Uziyahu built towers in Yerushalayim at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them.
10 He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock, likewise in the Sh’felah and the coastal plain. He had farmers and vineyard-workers in the hills and in the fertile lands, because he loved the soil.
11 ‘Uziyahu had a standing army of fit soldiers divided into units according to the census taken by the secretary Ye‘i’el and the officer Ma‘aseiyah, under the direction of Hananyah, one of the king’s officials.
12 The total number of clan heads over these strong, brave men was 2,600.
13 They directed a trained army of 307,500 fighting men, a strong force supporting the king in war against the enemy.
14 ‘Uziyahu equipped them, the whole army, with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows and slingstones.
15 In Yerushalayim he built devices designed by experts for the towers and angles, from which to shoot arrows and lob large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was miraculously helped, until he became strong.
16 But when he was strong, he became arrogant, which caused him to become corrupt, so that he sinned againstAdonaihis God by going into the temple ofAdonaito burn incense on the incense altar.
17 ‘Azaryahu thecohenwent in after him, and with him were eighty ofAdonai’scohanim, brave men.
18 They stood up to ‘Uziyahu the king; they told him, “It isn’t your job, ‘Uziyahu, to burn incense toAdonai! The job of burning incense belongs to thecohanim, the descendants of Aharon, who have been consecrated. Get out of the sanctuary! You have trespassed, andAdonai, God, will not honor you for this.”
19 This made ‘Uziyahu angry as he stood there with a censer in his hand ready to burn incense; and in his anger at thecohanim,tzara‘atbroke out on his forehead right in front of thecohanimin the house ofAdonaibeside the altar for incense.
20 ‘Azaryahu the chiefcohenand all thecohanimstared at him — there he was, withtzara‘aton his forehead! Quickly they threw him out of there; and indeed, he himself hurried to get out, becauseAdonaihad struck him.
21 ‘Uziyahu the king hadtzara‘atuntil his dying day; he lived in a separate house because he hadtzara‘at, and was not allowed into the house ofAdonai. Meanwhile, Yotam the king’s son ran the king’s household and was regent over the people of the land.
22 Other activities of ‘Uziyahu, from beginning to end, were recorded by Yesha‘yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz.
23 So ‘Uziyahu slept with his ancestors, and they buried him with his ancestors in the graveyard belonging to the kings, because they said, “He hadtzara‘at.” Then Yotam his son took his place as king.