2 Chronicles 26:1-9

Context

Uzziah’s Reign

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 Uzziah² built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah³ 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 followed⁷ God during the lifetime of⁸ Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed⁹ the Lord, God caused him to succeed.¹⁰

26:6 Uzziah attacked¹¹ 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 campaigns¹³ against the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 26:8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached¹⁴ 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

[26:1] ¹tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 15:1-8 has the variant spelling “Azariah.”

[26:2] ²tn Heb “he”; the referent (Uzziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:2] ³tn Heb “after the king”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:2] ⁴tn “slept with his fathers.”

[26:3] ⁵map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[26:4] ⁶tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”

[26:5] ⁷tn Heb “sought.”

[26:5] ⁸tn Heb “in the days of.”

[26:5] ⁹tn Heb “in the days of his seeking.”

[26:5] ¹⁰tn Or “prosper.”

[26:6] ¹¹tn Heb “went out and fought.”

[26:6] ¹²tn Heb “in Ashdod and among the Philistines.”

[26:7] ¹³tn The words “in his campaigns” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons

[26:8] ¹⁴tn Heb “and his name went to.”

[26:9] ¹⁵tn 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.