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| 1 And all the people of Judah take Uzziah (and he [is] a son of sixteen years), and cause him to reign instead of his father Amaziah. |
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| 2 He hath built Eloth, and restoreth it to Judah after the king's lying with his fathers. |
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| 3 A son of sixteen years [is] Uzziah in his reigning, and fifty and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Jecholiah of Jerusalem. |
Fifty and two years – Link No.36 in the chain of Bible chronology. B50; R1980:4
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| 4 And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Amaziah his father did, |
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| 5 and he is as one seeking God in the days of Zechariah who hath understanding in visions of God: and in the days of his seeking Jehovah, God hath caused him to prosper. |
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| 6 And he goeth forth, and fighteth with the Philistines, and breaketh down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and buildeth cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. |
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| 7 And God helpeth him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who are dwelling in Gur-Baal and the Mehunim. |
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| 8 And the Ammonites give a present to Uzziah, and his name goeth unto the entering in of Egypt, for he strengthened himself greatly. |
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| 9 And Uzziah buildeth towers in Jerusalem, by the gate of the corner, and by the gate of the valley, and by the angle, and strengtheneth them; |
Fortified them – It was quite proper for the kings of Israel and Judah to defend the land which the Almighty had specially given to their nation. R4786:2
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| 10 and he buildeth towers in the wilderness, and diggeth many wells, for he had much cattle, both in the low country and in the plain, husbandmen and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel; for he was a lover of the ground. |
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| 11 And Uzziah hath a force, making war, going forth to the host, by troops, in the number of their reckoning by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Masseiah the officer, by the hand of Hananiah [one] of the heads of the king. |
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| 12 The whole number of heads of the fathers of the mighty ones of valour [is] two thousand and six hundred; |
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| 13 and by their hand [is] the force of the host, three hundred thousand, and seven thousand, and five hundred warriors, with mighty power to give help to the king against the enemy. |
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| 14 And Uzziah prepareth for them, for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, even to stones of the slings. |
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| 15 And he maketh in Jerusalem inventions a device of an inventor to be on the towers, and on the corners, to shoot with arrows and with great stones, and his name goeth out unto a distance, for he hath been wonderfully helped till that he hath been strong. |
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| 16 And at his being strong his heart hath been high unto destruction, and he trespasseth against Jehovah his God, and goeth in unto the temple of Jehovah to make perfume upon the altar of perfume. |
To his destruction – "Pride goeth before destruction." (Prov. 16:18). R4786:2
Went into the temple – Uzziah evidently felt that God was proud of him and would be pleased to have him enter the Temple after the manner of the priests. R4786:2
Many successful people fall into the same error in their approach to God. R4786:2
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| 17 And Azariah the priest goeth in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah eighty, sons of valour, |
Valiant men – Courageous men. King Uzziah was likely to resent any interference. R4786:6
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| 18 and they stand up against Uzziah the king, and say to him, 'Not for thee, O Uzziah, to make perfume to Jehovah, but for priests, sons of Aaron, who are sanctified to make perfume; go forth from the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed, and [it is] not to thee for honour from Jehovah God.' |
Not unto thee – The great King Eternal has rules and regulations governing all attempts to approach him. R4786:3
But to the priests – Recognizing Jesus as the great antitypical Priest none should intrude into the divine presence in prayer other than through him. R4786:5
Thou hast trespassed – If the king had good intentions they should have guided him to a study of the divine arrangements. Ignorance of the Law is no excuse. R4786:6
Honour from the LORD – True honor cannot be found in opposition to the divine arrangements. R4786:6
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| 19 And Uzziah is wroth, and in his hand [is] a censer to make perfume, and in his being wroth with the priests the leprosy hath risen in his forehead, before the priests, in the house of Jehovah, from beside the altar of perfume. |
Leprosy – Typifying sin. R4786:5
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| 20 And Azariah the head priest looketh unto him, and all the priests, and lo, he [is] leprous in his forehead, and they hasten him thence, and also he himself hath hastened to go out, for Jehovah hath plagued him. |
LORD had smitten him – Signifying typically that whoever with knowledge would approach God aside from his ordained priest would come under divine sentence as a wilful sinner. R4786:5
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| 21 And Uzziah the king is a leper unto the day of his death, and inhabiteth a separate house a leper, for he hath been cut off from the house of Jehovah, and Jotham his son [is] over the house of the king, judging the people of the land. |
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| 22 And the rest of the matters of Uzziah, the first and the last, hath Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet written; |
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| 23 and Uzziah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the field of the burying-place that the kings have, for they said, 'He [is] a leper;' and reign doth Jotham his son in his stead. |
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