II Chronicles 26

¹Forsothe al the puple of Juda made kyng, Ozie, his sone, `of sixtene yeer, for his fader Amasie.

²He bildide Hailath, and restoride it to the lordschipe of Juda, after that the kyng slepte with hise fadris.

³Ozie was of sixtene yeer, whanne he bigan to regne; and he regnede two and fifti yeer in Jerusalem; the name of his modir was Hiechelia, of Jerusalem.

⁴And he dide that, that was riytful in the siyt of the Lord, bi alle thingis whiche Amasie, his fadir, hadde do.

⁵And he souyte the Lord in the daies of Zacarie, vndurstondynge and seynge God; and whanne he souyte God, God reulide hym in alle thingis.

⁶Forsothe he yede out, and fauyt ayens Filisteis, and distriede the wal of Geth, and the wal of Jabyne, and the wal of Azotus; and he bildide stronge places in Azotus and in Filistiym.

⁷And the Lord helpide hym bothe ayens Filisteis, and ayens Arabeis that dwelliden in Garbahal, and ayenus Amonytis.

⁸Amonytis paieden yiftis to Ozie, and his name was pupplischid `til to the entryng of Egipt for ofte victories.

⁹And Ozie bildide touris in Jerusalem ouer the yate of the corner, and ouer the yate of the valey, and othere touris in the same side of the wal; and made tho stidefast.

¹⁰Also he bildide touris in the wildirnesse, and he diggide ful many cisternes; for he hadde many beestis as wel in the feeldi places as in the wastnesse of deseert. Also he hadde vyneris and tiliers of vynes in the hilles, and in Carmele; for he was a man youun to erthetilthe.

¹¹Forsothe the oost of hise werriours, that yeden forth to batels, vndur the hond of Heiel, scribe, and of Masie, techere, and vndur the hond of Ananye that was of the duykis of the kyng; and al the noumbre of princes, by her meynees, was of stronge men two thousynde and sixe hundrid.

¹³And vndur hem was al the oost, thre hundrid thousynde and seuen thousynde and fyue hundrid, that weren able to batel, and fouyten for the king ayens aduersaries.

¹⁴And Ozie made redi to hem, that is, to al the oost, scheldis, and speris, and basynetis, and haburiouns, and bouwis, and slyngis to caste stonys.

¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem engynes of dyuerse kynde, which he settide in touris, and in the corneris of wallis, that tho schulden caste arowis and grete stoonys; and his name yede out fer, for the Lord helpide hym, and hadde maad him strong.

¹⁶But whanne he was maad strong, his herte was reisid in to his perischyng; and he dispiside `his Lord God; and he entride in to the temple of the Lord, and wolde brenne encense on the auter of encense.

¹⁷And anoon Azarie, the preest, entride after hym, and with hym the preestis of the Lord, seuenti `men ful noble;

¹⁸whiche ayenstoden the kyng, and seiden, Ozie, it is not of thin office, that thou brenne encense to the Lord, but of the preestis of the Lord, that is, of the sones of Aaron, that ben halewid to siche seruyce; go thou out of the seyntuarye; dispise thou not; for this thing schal not be arettid of the Lord God to thee in to glorie.

¹⁹And Ozie was wrooth, and he helde in the hond the censere for to offre encence, and manaasside the preestis; and anoon lepre was sprungun forth in his forheed, bifor the preestis in the hows of the Lord on the auter of encense.

²⁰And whanne Azarie, the bischop, hadde biholde hym, and alle othere preestis `hadden biholde him, thei sien lepre in his forheed, and hiyngli thei puttiden hym out; but also he was aferd, and hastide to go out; for he feelide anoon the veniaunce of the Lord.

²¹Therfor kyng Ozie was leprouse `til to the dai of his deeth, and dwellide in an hows bi it silf, and he was ful of lepre; `for which he was cast out of the hows of the Lord. Forsothe Joathan, his sone, gouernyde the hows of the kyng, and demyde the puple of the lond.

²²Sotheli Ysaie, the prophete, the sone of Amos, wroot the residue `of the formere and of the laste wordis of Ozie.

²³And Ozie slepte with hise fadris, and thei birieden not hym in the feeld of the kyngis sepulcris, for he was leprouse; and Joathan, his sone, regnyde for hym.

II Chronicles 26

¹Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.

²He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.

³Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

⁴And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did.

⁵And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

⁶And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.

⁷And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur–baal, and the Mehunims.

⁸And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.

⁹Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.

¹⁰Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.

¹¹Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains.

¹²The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.

¹³And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones.

¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.

¹⁶But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

¹⁷And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men:

¹⁸And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God.

¹⁹Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar.

²⁰And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him.

²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.

²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.