2 Chronicles 26:18

18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD . That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The LORD God will not honor you for this!”

2 Chronicles 26:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 26:18

And they withstood Uzziah the king
They not only stood against him, but stood about him, surrounded him, so as to hinder him from approaching the altar of incense:

and said unto him, it appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn
incense unto the Lord;
it did not belong to his office as a king, it was no part of it

but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn
incense;
and to them only; for even the Levites might not do it, only those of the tribe of Levi, that descended from Aaron, see ( Numbers 16:35 ) ,

go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed;
by going into that:

neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God;
but to his hurt, and be a brand of infamy upon him; for more is designed than is expressed, and as the event showed.

2 Chronicles 26:18 In-Context

16 But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the LORD his God by entering the sanctuary of the LORD ’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.

17 Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the LORD, all brave men.

18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD . That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The LORD God will not honor you for this!”

19 Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the LORD ’s Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead.

20 When Azariah the high priest and all the other priests saw the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king himself was eager to get out because the LORD had struck him.