2 Chronicles Chapter 26 to 28 : Easy-to-Read Version  | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

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Uzziah King of Judah

26 Then the people of Judah chose Uzziah to be the new king in place of Amaziah. Amaziah was Uzziah’s father. Uzziah was 16 years old when this happened. 2Uzziah built again the town of Elath and gave it back to Judah. Uzziah did this after Amaziah died and was buried with his ancestors.* 3Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah. Jecoliah was from Jerusalem. 4Uzziah did the things the Lord wanted him to do. He obeyed God the same as his father Amaziah had done. 5Uzziah followed God in the time of Zechariah’s life. Zechariah taught Uzziah how to respect and obey God. When Uzziah was obeying the Lord, God gave him success. 6Uzziah fought a war against the Philistine people. He tore down the walls around the towns of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Uzziah built towns near the town of Ashdod and in other places among the Philistine people. 7God helped Uzziah fight the Philistines, the Arabs living in the town of Gur Baal, and the Meunites. 8The Ammonites paid tribute* to Uzziah. Uzziah’s name became famous all the way to the border of Egypt. He was famous because he was very powerful. 9Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the place where the wall turned. Uzziah made those towers strong. 10Uzziah built towers in the desert. He also dug many wells. He had much cattle in the hill country and in the flat lands. Uzziah had farmers in the mountains and in the lands where growth was good. He also had men that took care of fields where grapes grew. He loved farming. 11Uzziah had an army of trained soldiers. Those soldiers were put in groups by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer. Hananiah was their leader. Jeiel and Maaseiah counted those soldiers and put them into groups. Hananiah was one of the king’s officers. 12There were 2,600 leaders over the soldiers. 13Those family leaders were in charge of an army of 307,500 men that fought with great power. Those soldiers helped the king against the enemy. 14Uzziah gave the army shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and stones for the slings.* 15In Jerusalem Uzziah made machines that were invented by clever men. Those machines were put on the towers and corner walls. These machines shot arrows and large rocks. Uzziah became famous. People knew his name in far away places. He had much help and became a powerful king. 16But when Uzziah became strong, his pride caused him to be destroyed. He was not faithful to the Lord his God. He went into the Lord’s temple* to burn incense* on the altar* for burning incense. 17Azariah the priest and 80 brave priests that served the Lord followed Uzziah into the temple. 18They told Uzziah he was wrong. They said to him, “Uzziah, it is not your job to burn incense to the Lord. It is not good for you to do this. The priests and Aaron’s descendants* are the ones that burn incense to the Lord. These priests were trained for holy service to burn incense. Go out of the Most Holy Place.* You have not been faithful. The Lord God will not honor you for this!” 19But Uzziah was angry. He had a bowl in his hand for burning incense.* While Uzziah was very angry at the priests, leprosy* came up on his forehead. This happened in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple* by the altar* for burning incense. 20Azariah the leading priest and all the priests looked at Uzziah. They could see the leprosy on his forehead. The priests quickly forced Uzziah out from the temple. Uzziah himself hurried out because the Lord had punished him. 21Uzziah the king was a leper.* He could not enter the Lord’s temple. Uzziah’s son Jotham controlled the king’s house and became governor for the people. 22The other things that Uzziah did, from beginning to the end, were written by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23Uzziah died and was buried near his ancestors.* Uzziah was buried in the field near the king’s burial places. Why? Because the people said, “Uzziah has leprosy.*” And Jotham became the new king in Uzziah’s place. Jotham was Uzziah’s son.

ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. tribute Money paid to a more powerful king by a weaker king to have peace. slings Something to throw rocks in, like David used against Goliath. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. altar(s) A stone table or a stand for offering sacrifices. descendants A person’s children and their future families.  Most Holy Place The inside room where the Box of the Lord’s Agreement sat. It is also named the “Holy of Holies.” It is the spiritual place where God lives and is worshiped. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. leprosy A very bad skin disease. The Hebrew word means any of several diseases that cause rashes or sores on the skin. leper A person who was sick with leprosy.


Jotham King of Judah

27 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha. Jerusha was Zadok’s daughter. 2Jotham did the things the Lord wanted him to do. He obeyed God just like his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham did not enter the Lord’s temple* to burn incense* like his father did. But the people continued doing wrong. 3Jotham built again the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple. He did much building on the wall at the place named Ophel. 4Jotham also built towns in the hill country of Judah. Jotham built fortresses* and towers in the forests. 5Jotham also fought against the king of the Ammonite people and his army and defeated them. So each year for three years the Ammonites gave Jotham 3 3/4 tons* of silver, 62,000 bushels* of wheat, and 62,000 bushels of barley. 6Jotham became powerful because he faithfully obeyed the Lord his God. 7The other things Jotham did and all his wars are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. 8Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. 9Then Jotham died and was buried with his ancestors.* The people buried him in David’s City.* Ahaz became the king in Jotham’s place. Ahaz was Jotham’s son.

temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. fortress(es) A building or city with tall, strong walls for protection. 3 3/4 tons Or, “3,400kg.” Literally, “100 talents.” 62,000 bushels Or, “2,200,000 l.” Literally, “10,000 cors.” ancestor(s) Literally, “father(s),” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.  David’s City Another name for Jerusalem.


Ahaz King of Judah

28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. Ahaz didn’t live right like David his ancestor.* Ahaz didn’t do the things the Lord wanted him to do. 2Ahaz followed the bad example of the kings of Israel. He used molds to make idols to worship the Baal gods. 3Ahaz burned incense* in the Valley of Ben Hinnom.* He sacrificed* his own sons by burning them in the fire. He did the same terrible sins that the peoples living in that land did. The Lord had forced those people out when the people of Israel entered that land. 4Ahaz offered sacrifices* and burned incense in the high places,* on the hills, and under every green tree. 5–6Ahaz sinned, so the Lord his God let the king of Aram defeat Ahaz. The king of Aram and his army defeated Ahaz and made many people of Judah prisoners. The king of Aram took those prisoners to the city of Damascus. The Lord also let Pekah the king of Israel defeat Ahaz. Pekah’s father’s name was Remaliah. Pekah and his army killed 120,000 brave soldiers from Judah in one day. Pekah defeated those men from Judah because they stopped obeying the Lord God their ancestors obeyed. 7Zicri was a brave soldier from Ephraim.* Zicri killed Maaseiah, King Ahaz’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the king’s house, and Elkanah. Elkanah was second in command to the king. 8The Israelite army captured 200,000 of their own relatives living in Judah. They took women, children, and many valuable things from Judah. The Israelites brought those captives and those things to the city of Samaria. 9But one of the Lord’s prophets was there. This prophet was named Oded. Oded met the Israelite army that came back to Samaria. Oded said to the Israelite army, “The Lord God your ancestors* obeyed let you defeat the people of Judah because he was angry at them. You killed and punished the people of Judah in a very mean way. Now God is angry at you. 10You plan to keep the people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves. You also have sinned against the Lord your God. 11Now listen to me. Send back your brothers and sisters that you captured. Do this because the Lord’s terrible anger is against you.” 12Then some of the leaders in Ephraim* saw the Israelite soldiers coming home from war. Those leaders met the Israelite soldiers and warned them. Those leaders were Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai. 13Those leaders said to the Israelite soldiers, “Don’t bring the prisoners from Judah here. If you do that, it will make us sin worse against the Lord. That will make our sin and guilt worse and the Lord will be very angry against Israel!” 14So the soldiers gave the prisoners and valuable things to those leaders and to the people of Israel. 15The leaders (Azariah, Berekiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa) stood up and helped the prisoners. These four men got the clothes that the Israelite army took and gave them to those people that were naked. Those leaders also gave shoes to those people. They gave the prisoners from Judah something to eat and drink. They rubbed oil on those people {to soften and heal their wounds}. Then those leaders from Ephraim put the weak prisoners on donkeys and took them back home to their families in Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then those four leaders went back home to Samaria. 16–17At that same time, the people from Edom came again and defeated the people of Judah. The Edomites captured people and took them away as prisoners. So King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria to help him. 18The Philistine people also attacked the towns in the hills and in south Judah. The Philistines captured the towns of Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo. They also captured the villages near those towns. Then the Philistines lived in those towns. 19The Lord gave troubles to Judah because King Ahaz of Judah encouraged the people of Judah to sin. He was very unfaithful to the Lord. 20Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and gave Ahaz trouble instead of helping him. 21Ahaz took some valuable things from the Lord’s temple* and from the king’s house and from the prince’s house. Ahaz gave those things to the king of Assyria. But that didn’t help Ahaz. 22In Ahaz’s troubles, he sinned worse and became more unfaithful to the Lord. 23He offered sacrifices* to the gods the people of Damascus worshiped. The people of Damascus had defeated Ahaz. So he thought to himself, “The gods the people of Aram worship helped them. So if I offer sacrifices to those gods, maybe they will help me also.” Ahaz worshiped those gods. In this way he sinned, and he made the people of Israel sin. 24Ahaz gathered the things from God’s temple* and broke them to pieces. Then he closed the doors of the Lord’s temple. He made altars* and put them on every street corner in Jerusalem. 25In every town in Judah Ahaz made high places* for burning incense* to worship other gods. Ahaz made the Lord God that his ancestors* obeyed very angry. 26The other things that Ahaz did, from the beginning to the end, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 27Ahaz died and was buried with his ancestors.* The people buried Ahaz in the city of Jerusalem. But they didn’t bury Ahaz in the same burial place where the kings of Israel were buried. Hezekiah became the new king in Ahaz’s place. Hezekiah was Ahaz’s son.

ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. Valley of Ben Hinnom The Valley of Hinnom was south and west of Jerusalem. Many babies and young children were sacrificed to false gods in this valley. sacrifice(d) To kill a special animal and offer it on an altar as a gift to God. sacrifice(s) A gift to God. Usually, it was a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar. high places Places for worshiping God or false gods. These places were often on the hills and mountains. Ephraim Ephraim was Joseph’s youngest son. Ephraim’s family group joined Israel. Ephraim was another name for Israel. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. altar(s) A stone table used for burning sacrifices offered as gifts to God. high places Places of worship.

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