The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
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.
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Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
2 He recovered Eilot for Y'hudah and rebuilt it; it was after this that the king [Amatzyahu] slept with his ancestors.
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He was the builder of Eloth, which he got back for Judah after the death of the king.
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.
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Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for fifty-two years; his mother's name was Jechiliah of Jerusalem.
4 He did what was right from ADONAI's perspective, following the example of everything his father Amatzyahu had done.
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He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Amaziah had done.
5 He consulted God during the lifetime of Z'kharyahu, who understood visions of God; and as long as he consulted ADONAI, God gave him success.
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He gave himself to searching after God in the days of Zechariah, who made men wise in the fear of God; and as long as he was true to the Lord, God made things go well for him.
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.
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He went out and made war against the Philistines, pulling down the walls of Gath and Jabneh and Ashdod, and building towns in the country round Ashdod and among the Philistines.
7 God helped him against the P'lishtim, against the Arabs living in Gur-Ba'al, and against the Me'unim.
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And God gave him help against the Philistines, and against the Arabians living in Gur-baal, and against the Meunim.
8 The 'Amonim brought tribute to 'Uziyahu, and his fame spread abroad as far as the Egyptian frontier, since he kept growing stronger.
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The Ammonites gave offerings to Uzziah: and news of him went out as far as the limit of Egypt; for he became very great in power.
9 'Uziyahu built towers in Yerushalayim at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them.
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Uzziah made towers in Jerusalem, at the doorway in the angle and at the doorway in the valley and at the turn of the wall, arming 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.
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And he put up towers in the waste land and made places for storing water, for he had much cattle, in the low hills and in the table land; and he had farmers and vine-keepers in the mountains and in the fertile land, for he was a lover of farming.
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.
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In addition, Uzziah had an army of fighting-men who went out to war in bands, as they had been listed by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.
12 The total number of clan heads over these strong, brave men was 2,600.
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The heads of families, the strong men of war, were two thousand, six hundred.
13 They directed a trained army of 307,500 fighting men, a strong force supporting the king in war against the enemy.
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And under their orders was a trained army of three hundred and seven thousand, five hundred, of great strength in war, helping the king against any who came against him.
14 'Uziyahu equipped them, the whole army, with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows and slingstones.
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And Uzziah had all these forces armed with body-covers and spears and head-covers and coats of metal and bows and stones for sending from leather bands.
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.
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And in Jerusalem he made machines, the invention of expert men, to be placed on the towers and angles of the walls for sending arrows and great stones. And his name was honoured far and wide; for he was greatly helped till he was strong.
16 But when he was strong, he became arrogant, which caused him to become corrupt, so that he sinned against ADONAI his God by going into the temple of ADONAI to burn incense on the incense altar.
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But when he had become strong, his heart was lifted up in pride, causing his destruction; and he did evil against the Lord his God; for he went into the Temple of the Lord for the purpose of burning perfumes on the altar of perfumes.
17 'Azaryahu the cohen went in after him, and with him were eighty of ADONAI's cohanim, brave men.
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And Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty of the Lord's priests, who were strong men;
18 They stood up to 'Uziyahu the king; they told him, "It isn't your job, 'Uziyahu, to burn incense to ADONAI! The job of burning incense belongs to the cohanim, the descendants of Aharon, who have been consecrated. Get out of the sanctuary! You have trespassed, and ADONAI, God, will not honor you for this."
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And they made protests to Uzziah the king, and said to him, The burning of perfumes, Uzziah, is not your business but that of the priests, the sons of Aaron, who have been made holy for this work: go out of the holy place, for you have done wrong, and it will not be to your honour before God.
19 This made 'Uziyahu angry as he stood there with a censer in his hand ready to burn incense; and in his anger at the cohanim, tzara'at broke out on his forehead right in front of the cohanim in the house of ADONAI beside the altar for incense.
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Then Uzziah was angry; and he had in his hand a vessel for burning perfume; and while his wrath was bitter against the priests, the mark of the leper's disease came out on his brow, before the eyes of the priests in the house of the Lord by the altar of perfumes.
20 'Azaryahu the chief cohen and all the cohanim stared at him -there he was, with tzara'at on his forehead! Quickly they threw him out of there; and indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because ADONAI had struck him.
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And Azariah, the chief priest, and all the priests, looking at him, saw the mark of the leper on his brow, and they sent him out quickly and he himself went out straight away, for the Lord's punishment had come on him.
21 'Uziyahu the king had tzara'at until his dying day; he lived in a separate house because he had tzara'at, and was not allowed into the house of ADONAI. Meanwhile, Yotam the king's son ran the king's household and was regent over the people of the land.
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So King Uzziah was a leper till the day of his death, living separately in his private house; for he was cut off from the house of God; and Jotham his son was ruling over his house, judging 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.
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Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, were recorded by Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
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 had tzara'at."Then Yotam his son took his place as king.
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So Uzziah went to rest with his fathers; and they put his body into the earth in the field used for the resting-place of the kings, for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son became king in his place.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.