2 Chronicles 26
1 Then all the people of the land took
Ozias, and he was sixteen years old, and they made him king in the room of his
father Amasias. 2 He built Ælath, he
recovered it to Juda, after the king slept with his fathers.
3 Ozias began to reign at the age of
sixteen years, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's
name was Jechelia of Jerusalem. 4 And
he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that
Amasias his father did. 5 And he
sought the Lord in the days of Zacharias, who understood the fear of the Lord;
and in his days he sought the Lord, and the Lord prospered him.
6 And he went out and fought against
the Philistines, and pulled down the walls of Geth, and the walls of Jabner,
and the walls of Azotus, and he built cities
near Azotus, and among the Philistines.
7 And the Lord strengthened him
against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt on the rock, and
against the Minæans. 8 And the Minæans
gave gifts to Ozias; and his fame spread as far as the entering in of Egypt,
for he strengthened himself exceedingly.
9 And Ozias built towers in Jerusalem,
both at the gate of the corner and at the valley gate, and at the corners, and
he fortified them. 10 And he built
towers in the wilderness, and dug many wells, for he had many cattle in the
low country and in the plain; and vinedressers in the mountain country and in
Carmel: for he was a husbandman.
11 And Ozias had a host of warriors,
and that went out orderly to war, and returned orderly in number; and their
number was made by the hand of Jeiel the scribe, and
Maasias the judge, by the hand of Ananias the king's deputy.
12 The whole number of the chiefs of
families of the mighty men of war was two thousand
six hundred; 13 and with them was a
warrior force, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred:
these waged war mightily to help the king against
his enemies.
14 And Ozias prepared for them,
even for all the host, shields, and spears, and
helmets, and breastplates, and bows, and slings for stones.
15 And he made in Jerusalem machines
invented by a wise contriver, to be upon the towers and upon the corners, to
cast darts and great stones: and the fame of their
preparation was heard at a distance; for he was wonderfully helped, till he
was strong.
16 And when he was strong, his heart
was lifted up to his destruction; and he transgressed against the Lord his
God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of
incense. 17 And there went in after
him Azarias the priest, and with him eighty priests of the Lord, mighty men.
18 And they withstood Ozias the king,
and said to him, It is not for thee, Ozias, to burn
incense to the Lord, but only for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are
consecrated to sacrifice: go forth of the sanctuary, for thou hast departed
from the Lord; and this shall not be for glory to thee from the Lord God.
19 And Ozias was angry, and in his
hand was the censer to burn incense in the temple:
and when he was angry with the priests, then the leprosy rose up in his
forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, over the altar of
incense. 20 And Azarias the chief
priest, and the other priests, turned
to look at him, and, behold, he
was leprous in his forehead; and they got him hastily
out thence, for he also hasted to go out, because the Lord had rebuked him.
21 And Ozias the king was a leper to
the day of his death, and he dwelt as a leper in a
separate house; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Joathan his
son was set over his kingdom, judging the people of
the land.
22 And the rest of the acts of Ozias,
the first and the last, are written by Jessias the
prophet. 23 And Ozias slept with his
fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial
place of the kings, for they said, He is a leper; and
Joatham his son reigned in his stead.