26:1 All the people of Judah took Uzziah, 1 who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 26:2 Uzziah 2 built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah 3 had passed away. 4
26:3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. 5 His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 26:4 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. 6 26:5 He followed 7 God during the lifetime of 8 Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed 9 the Lord, God caused him to succeed. 10
26:6 Uzziah attacked 11 the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory. 12 26:7 God helped him in his campaigns 13 against the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 26:8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached 14 the border of Egypt, for he grew in power.
26:9 Uzziah built and fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and at the Angle. 15 26:10 He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the lowlands 16 and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel, 17 for he loved agriculture. 18
26:11 Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official. 26:12 The total number of family leaders who led warriors was 2,600. 26:13 They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend 19 the king against his enemies. 26:14 Uzziah supplied shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. 26:15 In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful. 20
26:16 But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. 21 He disobeyed 22 the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. 26:17 Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. 26:18 They confronted 23 King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed 24 and the Lord God will not honor you!” 26:19 Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving 25 at the priests, a skin disease 26 appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. 26:20 When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at 27 him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king 28 himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. 26:21 King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, 29 afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.
26:22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 30 26:23 Uzziah passed away 31 and was buried near his ancestors 32 in a cemetery 33 belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.) 34 His son Jotham replaced him as king.
27:1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 35 His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 27:2 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. 36 (He did not, however, have the audacity to enter the temple.) 37 Yet the people were still sinning.
27:3 He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple and did a lot of work on the wall in the area known as Ophel. 38 27:4 He built cities in the hill country of Judah and fortresses and towers in the forests.
27:5 He launched a military campaign 39 against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites paid him 100 talents 40 of silver, 10,000 kors 41 of wheat, and 10,000 kors 42 of barley. The Ammonites also paid this same amount of annual tribute the next two years. 43
27:6 Jotham grew powerful because he was determined to please the Lord his God. 44 27:7 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including all his military campaigns and his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah. 45 27:8 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 27:9 Jotham passed away 46 and was buried in the City of David. 47 His son Ahaz replaced him as king.
28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 48 He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David. 49 28:2 He followed in the footsteps of 50 the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. 28:3 He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, 51 a horrible sin practiced by the nations 52 whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. 28:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
28:5 The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians 53 defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. 54 He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. 55 28:6 In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. 56 28:7 Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. 28:8 The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it 57 back to Samaria. 58
28:9 Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. 59 28:10 And now you are planning 60 to enslave 61 the people 62 of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? 28:11 Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you!” 63 28:12 So some of 64 the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted 65 those returning from the battle. 28:13 They said to them, “Don’t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord? 66 Our guilt is already great and the Lord is very angry at Israel.” 67 28:14 So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. 28:15 Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. 68 So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. 69 They put the ones who couldn’t walk on donkeys. 70 They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, 71 the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria.
28:16 At that time King Ahaz asked the king 72 of Assyria for help. 28:17 The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. 28:18 The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the lowlands 73 and the Negev. They captured and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages. 28:19 The Lord humiliated 74 Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, 75 for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very 76 unfaithful to the Lord. 28:20 King Tiglath-pileser 77 of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support. 78 28:21 Ahaz gathered riches 79 from the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.
28:22 During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. 28:23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him. 80 He reasoned, 81 “Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they caused him and all Israel to stumble. 28:24 Ahaz gathered the items in God’s temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem. 28:25 In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered the Lord God of his ancestors.
28:26 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 82 28:27 Ahaz passed away 83 and was buried in the City of David; 84 they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.
29:1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 85 His mother was Abijah, 86 the daughter of Zechariah. 29:2 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. 87
29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them. 29:4 He brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the square on the east side. 29:5 He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors! 88 Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean! 29:6 For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of 89 the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned 90 away from the Lord’s dwelling place and rejected him. 91 29:7 They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 29:8 The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn, 92 as you can see with your own eyes. 29:9 Look, our fathers died violently 93 and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off 94 because of this. 29:10 Now I intend 95 to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger. 96 29:11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices.” 97
29:12 The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders: 98
From the Kohathites: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
29:13 from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel;
from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;
29:14 from the descendants of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei;
from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
29:15 They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word 99 of the Lord. 29:16 The priests then entered the Lord’s temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside. 100 The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. 29:17 On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord’s temple. 101 For eight more days they consecrated the Lord’s temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished. 29:18 They went to King Hezekiah and said: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, including the altar of burnt sacrifice and all its equipment, and the table for the Bread of the Presence and all its equipment. 29:19 We have prepared and consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed during his reign when he acted unfaithfully. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”
29:20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord’s temple. 29:21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. 102 The king 103 told the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer burnt sacrifices on the altar of the Lord. 29:22 They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; next they slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood on the altar. 29:23 Finally they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on them. 29:24 Then the priests slaughtered them. They offered their blood as a sin offering on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had decreed 104 that the burnt sacrifice and sin offering were for all Israel.
29:25 King Hezekiah 105 stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the king’s prophet, 106 and Nathan the prophet had ordered. (The Lord had actually given these orders through his prophets.) 29:26 The Levites had 107 David’s musical instruments and the priests had trumpets. 29:27 Hezekiah ordered the burnt sacrifice to be offered on the altar. As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel. 29:28 The entire assembly worshiped, as the singers sang and the trumpeters played. They continued until the burnt sacrifice was completed.
29:29 When the sacrifices were completed, the king and all who were with him bowed down and worshiped. 29:30 King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise the Lord, using the psalms 108 of David and Asaph the prophet. 109 So they joyfully offered praise and bowed down and worshiped. 29:31 Hezekiah said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves 110 to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings 111 to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so 112 brought burnt sacrifices.
29:32 The assembly brought a total of 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs as burnt sacrifices to the Lord, 113 29:33 and 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep 114 were consecrated. 29:34 But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, 115 so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.) 116 29:35 There was a large number of burnt sacrifices, as well as fat from the peace offerings and drink offerings that accompanied the burnt sacrifices. So the service of the Lord’s temple was reinstituted. 117 29:36 Hezekiah and all the people were happy about what God had done 118 for them, 119 for it had been done quickly. 120
1 tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 15:1-8 has the variant spelling “Azariah.”
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Uzziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “after the king”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn “slept with his fathers.”
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
7 tn Heb “sought.”
8 tn Heb “in the days of.”
9 tn Heb “in the days of his seeking.”
10 tn Or “prosper.”
11 tn Heb “went out and fought.”
12 tn Heb “in Ashdod and among the Philistines.”
13 tn The words “in his campaigns” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons
14 tn Heb “and his name went to.”
15 tn On the meaning of the Hebrew word מִקְצוֹעַ (miqtsoa’), see HALOT 628 s.v. עַ(וֹ)מִקְצֹ. The term probably refers to an “angle” or “corner” somewhere on the eastern wall of Jerusalem.
16 tn Heb “Shephelah.”
17 tn Heb “workers and vinedressers in the hills and in Carmel.” The words “he had” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18 tn Heb “for a lover of the ground he [was].”
19 tn Heb “help.”
20 tn Heb “and his name went out to a distant place, for he did extraordinarily to be helped until he was strong.”
21 tn Heb “his heart was high [i.e., proud] to destroy.”
22 tn Or “was unfaithful to.”
23 tn Heb “stood against.”
24 tn Or “been unfaithful.”
25 tn Heb “angry.”
26 tn Traditionally “leprosy,” but this was probably a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy (technically known today as Hansen’s disease). See 2 Kgs 5:1.
27 tn Heb “turned toward.”
28 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn The precise meaning of בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhafshiyt, “house of [?]”) is uncertain. NASB, NIV, NRSV all have “in a separate house”; NEB has “in his own house…relieved of all duties.” For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.
30 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Uzziah, the former and the latter, Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, recorded.”
31 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
32 tn Heb “fathers.”
33 tn Heb “a field of burial.”
34 tn Heb “for they said, ‘He had a skin disease.’”
35 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
36 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
37 tn Heb “except he did not enter the house of the
38 tn Heb “wall of Ophel.” See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל.
39 tn Heb “he fought with.”
40 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
41 sn As a unit of dry measure a kor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).
42 tn Heb “10,000 kors of wheat and 10,000 of barley.” The unit of measure of the barley is omitted in the Hebrew text, but is understood to be “kors,” the same as the measures of wheat.
43 tn Heb “This the sons of Ammon brought to him, and in the second year and the third.”
44 tn Heb “because he established his ways before the
45 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jotham, and his battles and his ways, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.”
46 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
47 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
48 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
49 tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the
50 tn Heb “he walked in the ways of.”
51 sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB “burnt his sons in the fire”; NASB “burned his sons in the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
52 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
53 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
54 tn Heb “and took captive from him a great captivity and brought [them] to Damascus.”
55 tn Heb “who struck him down with a great striking.”
56 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 25).
57 tn Heb “the loot.” The pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
58 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
59 tn Heb “and you killed them with anger [that] reaches as far as heaven.”
60 tn Heb “saying.”
61 tn Heb “to enslave as male servants and female servants.”
62 tn Heb “sons.”
63 tn Heb “for the rage of the anger of the
64 tn Heb “men from.”
65 tn Heb “arose against.”
66 tn Heb “for to the guilt of the
67 tn Heb “for great is [the] guilt to us and rage of anger is upon Israel.”
68 tn Heb “and the men who were designated by names arose and took the captives and all their naked ones they clothed from the loot.”
69 tn Heb “and poured oil on them.”
70 tn Heb “and they led them on donkeys, with respect to everyone stumbling.”
71 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
72 tc Most Hebrew
73 tn Heb “Shephelah.”
74 tn Or “subdued.”
75 sn That is, “of Judah.” Frequently in 2 Chronicles “Israel” is substituted for “Judah.”
76 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the degree of Ahaz’s unfaithfulness.
77 tn Heb “Tilgath-pilneser,” a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.
78 tn Heb “and he caused him distress and did not strengthen him.”
79 tn Heb “divided up,” but some read חִלֵּץ (khillets, “despoiled”).
80 tn Heb “the gods of Damascus, the ones who had defeated him.” The words “he thought” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The perspective is that of Ahaz, not the narrator! Another option is that “the kings” has been accidentally omitted after “gods of.” See v. 23b.
81 tn Heb “said.”
82 tn Heb “As for the rest of his events, and all his ways, the former and the latter, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
83 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
84 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
85 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
86 tn The parallel passage in 2 Kgs 18:2 has “Abi.”
87 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
88 tn Heb “fathers.”
89 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
90 tn Heb “turned their faces.”
91 tn Heb “and turned the back.”
92 tn Heb “and he made them [an object] of dread and devastation and hissing.”
93 tn Heb “fell by the sword.”
94 tn Heb “are in captivity.”
95 tn Heb “now it is with my heart.”
96 tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from us.” The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding statement of intention.
97 tn Heb “to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and sacrificers.”
98 tn Heb “and the Levites arose.”
99 tn Heb “words” (plural).
100 tn Heb “in the temple of the
101 tn Heb “porch of the
102 sn Perhaps these terms refer metonymically to the royal court, the priests and Levites, and the people, respectively.
103 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
104 tn Heb “said.”
105 tn Heb “he”; the referent (King Hezekiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
106 tn Or “seer.”
107 tn Heb “stood with” (i.e., stood holding).
108 tn Heb “with the words.”
109 tn Or “seer.”
110 tn Heb “filled your hand.”
111 tn Or “tokens of thanks.”
112 tn Heb “and all who were willing of heart.”
113 tn Heb “and the number of burnt sacrifices which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs; for a burnt sacrifice to the
114 tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (ts’on) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but there is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
115 tn Heb “the burnt sacrifices.”
116 tn Heb “for the Levites were more pure of heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.”
117 tn Or “established.”
118 tn Heb “prepared.”
119 tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun “they” has been used here for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
120 tn Heb “for quickly was the matter.”