2 Chronicles 26:16-21
Amplified Bible
Pride Is Uzziah’s Undoing
16 But when Uzziah became strong, he became so proud [of himself and his accomplishments] that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful and sinned against the Lord his God, for he went [a]into the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.(A) 17 Then Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, men of courage. 18 They opposed 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 have been consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God.” 19 Then Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to burn incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, [b]leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. 20 As Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked toward him, behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he also hurried to get out because the Lord had stricken him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and, being a leper, he lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And his son Jotham took charge of the king’s household, judging and governing the people of the land.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 26:16 Only priests were permitted to enter the temple proper and perform such ceremonies.
- 2 Chronicles 26:19 Or possibly a skin disease, because the Hebrew word is a general term that can refer to true leprosy (Hansen’s disease) or lesser skin diseases. In any case, it was a severe judgment from God because the disease rendered Uzziah ceremonially unclean, limiting his contact with other people and banning him from participation in worship services (see v 21).
2 Chronicles 26:16-21
New International Version
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride(A) led to his downfall.(B) He was unfaithful(C) to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense(D) on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah(E) the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests,(F) the descendants(G) of Aaron,(H) who have been consecrated to burn incense.(I) Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy[a](J) broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house[b](K)—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 26:19 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verses 20, 21 and 23.
- 2 Chronicles 26:21 Or in a house where he was relieved of responsibilities
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.