English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah.
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The people of Judah then took Uzziah, who was only sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
2 He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.
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The first thing he did after his father was dead and buried was to recover Elath for Judah and rebuild it.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
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Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king and reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.
4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
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He behaved well in the eyes of God, following in the footsteps of his father Amaziah.
5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.
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He was a loyal seeker of God. He was well trained by his pastor and teacher Zechariah to live in reverent obedience before God, and for as long as Zechariah lived, Uzziah lived a godly life. And God prospered him.
6 He went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines.
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He ventured out and fought the Philistines, breaking into the fortress cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He also built settlements around Ashdod and other Philistine areas.
7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites.
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God helped him in his wars with the Philistines, the Arabs in Gur Baal, and the Meunites.
8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.
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The Ammonites also paid tribute. Uzziah became famous, his reputation extending all the way to Egypt. He became quite powerful.
9 Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them.
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Uzziah constructed defense towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and at the corner of the wall.
10 And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
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He also built towers and dug cisterns out in the country. He had herds of cattle down in the foothills and out on the plains, had farmers and vinedressers at work in the hills and fields - he loved growing things.
11 Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders.
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On the military side, Uzziah had a well-prepared army ready to fight. They were organized by companies under the direction of Jeiel the secretary, Maaseiah the field captain, and Hananiah of the general staff.
12 The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses of mighty men of valor was 2,600.
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The roster of family leaders over the fighting men accounted for 2,600.
13 Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could make war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
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Under them were reinforcement troops numbering 307,000, with 500 of them on constant alert - a strong royal defense against any attack.
14 And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging.
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Uzziah had them well-armed with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingshots.
15 In Jerusalem he made engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.
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He also installed the latest in military technology on the towers and corners of Jerusalem for shooting arrows and hurling stones. He became well known for all this - a famous king. Everything seemed to go his way.
16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
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But then the strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud, he fell. One day, contemptuous of God, he walked into The Temple of God like he owned it and took over, burning incense on the Incense Altar.
17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor,
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The priest Azariah, backed up by eighty brave priests of God, tried to prevent him.
18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God."
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They confronted Uzziah: "You must not, you cannot do this, Uzziah - only the Aaronite priests, especially consecrated for the work, are permitted to burn incense. Get out of God's Temple; you are unfaithful and a disgrace!"
19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense.
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But Uzziah, censer in hand, was already in the middle of doing it and angrily rebuffed the priests. He lost his temper; angry words were exchanged - and then, even as they quarreled, a skin disease appeared on his forehead.
20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him.
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As soon as they saw it, the chief priest Azariah and the other priests got him out of there as fast as they could. He hurried out - he knew that God then and there had given him the disease.
21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's household, governing the people of the land.
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Uzziah had his skin disease for the rest of his life and had to live in quarantine; he was not permitted to set foot in The Temple of God. His son Jotham, who managed the royal palace, took over the government of the country.
22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote.
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The rest of the history of Uzziah, from start to finish, was written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
23 And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.
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When Uzziah died, they buried him with his ancestors in a field next to the royal cemetery. His skin disease disqualified him from burial in the royal cemetery. His son Jotham became the next king.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.