Bible Reading Plan – Day 168

₁In the 27th year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah ₂at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ₃Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the LORD. ₄But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. ₅The LORD struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a house on his own, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.

₆Everything else that Uzziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. ₇Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground in David's City, and his son Jotham succeeded him as king.

₈In the 38th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam II became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for six months. ₉He, like his predecessors, sinned against the LORD. He followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. ₁₀Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against King Zechariah, assassinated him at Ibleam, and succeeded him as king.

₁₁Everything else that Zechariah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₁₂So the promise was fulfilled which the LORD had made to King Jehu: “Your descendants, down to the fourth generation, will be kings of Israel.”

₁₃In the 39th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for one month.

₁₄Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah to Samaria, assassinated Shallum, and succeeded him as king. ₁₅Everything else that Shallum did, including an account of his conspiracy, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₁₆As Menahem was on his way from Tirzah, he completely destroyed the city of Tappuah, its inhabitants, and the surrounding territory, because the city did not surrender to him. He even ripped open the bellies of all the pregnant women.

₁₇In the 39th year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for ten years. ₁₈He sinned against the LORD, for until the day of his death he followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin till the day of his death. ₁₉Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, invaded Israel, and Menahem gave him 34 tonnes of silver to gain his support in strengthening Menahem's power over the country. ₂₀Menahem got the money from the rich men of Israel by forcing each one to contribute fifty pieces of silver. So Tiglath Pileser went back to his own country.

₂₁Everything else that Menahem did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₂₂He died and was buried, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.

₂₃In the fiftieth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years. ₂₄He sinned against the LORD, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. ₂₅An officer of Pekahiah's forces, Pekah son of Remaliah, plotted with fifty men from Gilead, assassinated Pekahiah in the palace's inner fortress in Samaria, and succeeded him as king.

₂₆Everything else that Pekahiah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₂₇In the 52nd year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for twenty years. ₂₈He sinned against the LORD, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

₂₉It was while Pekah was king that Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor, and the territories of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, and took the people to Assyria as prisoners.

₃₀In the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah as king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah plotted against King Pekah, assassinated him, and succeeded him as king. ₃₁Everything else that Pekah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₃₂In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah as king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah ₃₃at the age of 25, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. ₃₄Following the example of his father Uzziah, Jotham did what was pleasing to the LORD. ₃₅But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. It was Jotham who built the North Gate of the Temple.

₃₆Everything else that Jotham did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. ₃₇It was while he was king that the LORD first sent King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel to attack Judah. ₃₈Jotham died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City, and his son Ahaz succeeded him as king.

₁All the people of Judah chose Amaziah's sixteen-year-old son Uzziah to succeed his father as king. ₂(It was after the death of Amaziah that Uzziah recaptured Elath and rebuilt the city.)

₃Uzziah became king at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ₄Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the LORD. ₅As long as Zechariah, his religious adviser, was living, he served the LORD faithfully, and God blessed him.

₆Uzziah went to war against the Philistines. He tore down the walls of the cities of Gath, Jamnia, and Ashdod, and built fortified cities near Ashdod and in the rest of Philistia. ₇God helped him to defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living at Gurbaal, and the Meunites. ₈The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and he became so powerful that his fame spread even to Egypt.

₉Uzziah strengthened the fortifications of Jerusalem by building towers at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and where the wall turned. ₁₀He also built fortified towers in the open country and dug many cisterns, because he had large herds of livestock in the western foothills and plains. Because he loved farming, he encouraged the people to plant vineyards in the hill country and to farm the fertile land.

₁₁He had a large army ready for battle. Its records were kept by his secretaries Jeiel and Maaseiah under the supervision of Hananiah, a member of the king's staff. ₁₂The army was commanded by 2,600 officers. ₁₃Under them were 307,500 soldiers able to fight effectively for the king against his enemies. ₁₄Uzziah supplied the army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of armour, bows and arrows, and stones for slinging. ₁₅In Jerusalem his inventors made equipment for shooting arrows and for throwing large stones from the towers and corners of the city wall. His fame spread everywhere, and he became very powerful because of the help he received from God.

₁₆But when King Uzziah became strong, he grew arrogant, and that led to his downfall. He defied the LORD his God by going into the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. ₁₇Azariah the priest, accompanied by eighty strong and courageous priests, followed the king ₁₈to resist him. They said, “Uzziah! You have no right to burn incense to the LORD. Only the priests who are descended from Aaron have been consecrated to do this. Leave this holy place. You have offended the LORD God, and you no longer have his blessing.”

₁₉Uzziah was standing there in the Temple beside the incense altar and was holding an incense burner. He became angry with the priests, and immediately a dreaded skin disease broke out on his forehead. ₂₀Azariah and the other priests stared at the king's forehead in horror, and then forced him to leave the Temple. He hurried to get out, because the LORD had punished him.

₂₁For the rest of his life King Uzziah was ritually unclean because of his disease. Unable to enter the Temple again, he lived in his own house, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.

₂₂The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz recorded all the other things that King Uzziah did during his reign. ₂₃Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground, but because of his disease he was not buried in the royal tombs. His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

₁Jotham became king at the age of 25, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. ₂He did what was pleasing to the LORD, just as his father had done; but unlike his father he did not sin by burning incense in the Temple. The people, however, went on sinning.

₃It was Jotham who built the North Gate of the Temple and did extensive work on the city wall in the area of Jerusalem called Ophel. ₄In the mountains of Judah he built cities, and in the forests he built forts and towers. ₅He fought against the king of Ammon and his army and defeated them. Then he forced the Ammonites to pay him the following tribute each year for three years: 3.4 tonnes of silver, 1,000 tonnes of wheat, and 1,000 tonnes of barley. ₆Jotham grew powerful because he faithfully obeyed the LORD his God. ₇The other events of Jotham's reign, his wars, and his policies, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. ₈Jotham was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. ₉He died and was buried in David's City and his son Ahaz succeeded him as king.