O Reinado de Uzias, Rei de Judá
1Então todo o povo de Judá proclamou Uzias rei, aos dezesseis anos de idade, no lugar de seu pai, Amazias. 2Foi ele que reconquistou e reconstruiu a cidade de Elate para Judá, depois que Amazias descansou com os seus antepassados.
3Uzias tinha dezesseis anos de idade quando se tornou rei e reinou cinquenta e dois anos em Jerusalém. Sua mãe era de Jerusalém e chamava-se Jecolias. 4Ele fez o que o Senhor aprova, tal como o seu pai Amazias; 5e buscou a Deus durante a vida de Zacarias, que o instruiu no temor26.5 Conforme muitos manuscritos do Texto Massorético, a Septuaginta e a Versão Siríaca; outros manuscritos do Texto Massorético dizem na visão. de Deus. Enquanto buscou ao Senhor, Deus o fez prosperar.
6Ele saiu à guerra contra os filisteus e derrubou os muros de Gate, de Jabne e de Asdode. Depois reconstruiu cidades próximo a Asdode e em outros lugares do território filisteu. 7Deus o ajudou contra os filisteus, contra os árabes que viviam em Gur-Baal e contra os meunitas. 8Os amonitas pagavam tributo a Uzias, e sua fama estendeu-se até a fronteira do Egito, pois havia se tornado muito poderoso.
9Uzias construiu torres fortificadas em Jerusalém, junto à porta da Esquina, à porta do Vale e no canto do muro. 10Também construiu torres no deserto e cavou muitas cisternas, pois ele possuía muitos rebanhos na Sefelá e na planície. Ele mantinha trabalhadores em seus campos e em suas vinhas, nas colinas e nas terras férteis, pois gostava da agricultura.
11Uzias possuía um exército bem preparado, organizado em divisões de acordo com o número dos soldados convocados pelo secretário Jeiel e pelo oficial Maaseias, sob o comando de Hananias, um dos oficiais do rei. 12O total de chefes de família no comando dos homens de combate era de dois mil e seiscentos. 13Sob o comando deles havia um exército de trezentos e sete mil e quinhentos homens treinados para a guerra, uma força poderosíssima que apoiava o rei contra os seus inimigos. 14Uzias providenciou escudos, lanças, capacetes, couraças, arcos e atiradeiras de pedras para todo o exército. 15Em Jerusalém construiu máquinas projetadas por peritos para serem usadas nas torres e nas defesas das esquinas, máquinas que atiravam flechas e grandes pedras. Ele foi extraordinariamente ajudado e, assim, tornou-se muito poderoso e a sua fama espalhou-se para longe.
16Entretanto, depois que Uzias se tornou poderoso, o seu orgulho provocou a sua queda. Ele foi infiel ao Senhor, o seu Deus, e entrou no templo do Senhor para queimar incenso no altar de incenso. 17O sumo sacerdote Azarias e outros oitenta corajosos sacerdotes do Senhor, foram atrás dele. 18Eles o enfrentaram e disseram: “Não é certo que você, Uzias, queime incenso ao Senhor. Isso é tarefa dos sacerdotes, os descendentes de Arão consagrados para queimar incenso. Saia do santuário, pois você foi infiel e não será honrado por Deus, o Senhor”.
19Uzias, que estava com um incensário na mão, pronto para queimar o incenso, irritou-se e indignou-se contra os sacerdotes; e na mesma hora, na presença deles, diante do altar de incenso no templo do Senhor, surgiu lepra26.19 O termo hebraico não se refere somente à lepra, mas também a diversas doenças da pele; também nos versículos 20, 21 e 23. em sua testa. 20Quando o sumo sacerdote Azarias e todos os outros sacerdotes viram a lepra, expulsaram-no imediatamente do templo. Na verdade, ele mesmo ficou ansioso para sair, pois o Senhor o havia ferido.
21O rei Uzias sofreu de lepra até o dia em que morreu. Durante todo esse tempo morou numa casa separada26.21 Ou casa onde estava desobrigado de suas responsabilidades, leproso e excluído do templo do Senhor. Seu filho Jotão tomava conta do palácio e governava o povo.
22Os demais acontecimentos do reinado de Uzias, do início ao fim, foram registrados pelo profeta Isaías, filho de Amoz. 23Uzias descansou com os seus antepassados e foi sepultado perto deles, num cemitério que pertencia aos reis, pois o povo dizia: “Ele tinha lepra”. Seu filho Jotão foi o seu sucessor.
Uzziah King of Judah
1All the people of Judah made Uzziah king. He was 16 years old. They made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 2Uzziah rebuilt Elath. He brought it under Judah’s control again. He did it after Amaziah joined the members of his family who had already died.
3Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah. She was from Jerusalem. 4Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5He tried to obey God during the days of Zechariah. Zechariah taught him to have respect for God. As long as Uzziah obeyed the Lord, God gave him success.
6Uzziah went to war against the Philistines. He broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. Then he rebuilt some towns that were near Ashdod. He also rebuilt some other towns where Philistines lived. 7God helped him fight against the Philistines. He also helped him fight against the Meunites and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal. 8The Ammonites brought to Uzziah the gifts he required of them. He became famous all the way to the border of Egypt. That’s because he had become very powerful.
9Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem. They were at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate and the angle of the wall. He made the towers very strong. 10He also built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, because he had a lot of livestock. The livestock were in the western hills and on the plains. Uzziah had people working in his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the rich lands. That’s because he loved the soil.
11Uzziah’s army was well trained. It was ready to march out by military groups according to their numbers. Jeiel and Maaseiah brought them together. Jeiel was the secretary. Maaseiah was the officer. They were under the direction of Hananiah. He was one of the royal officials. 12The total number of family leaders who were over the fighting men was 2,600. 13An army of 307,500 men was under their command. The men were trained for war. They were a powerful force. They helped the king against his enemies. 14Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows, and stones for their slings. 15In Jerusalem he invented machines to be used on the towers and on the corners of city walls. These machines were used by men who shot arrows from the walls. The machines were also used by men to throw large stones from the walls. Uzziah became famous everywhere. God greatly helped him until he became powerful.
16But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride brought him down. He wasn’t faithful to the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to burn incense on the altar for burning incense. 17Azariah the priest followed him in. So did 80 other brave priests of the Lord. 18They stood up to Uzziah. They said, “Uzziah, it isn’t right for you to burn incense to the Lord. Only the priests are supposed to do that. They are members of the family line of Aaron. They have been set apart to burn incense. So get out of here. Leave the temple. You haven’t been faithful. The Lord God won’t honor you.”
19Uzziah was holding a shallow cup. He was ready to burn incense in it. He became angry. He shouted at the priests in the Lord’s temple. He did it near the altar for burning incense. While he was shouting, a skin disease suddenly broke out on his forehead. 20Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him. They saw that Uzziah had a skin disease on his forehead. So they hurried him out of the temple. Actually, he himself really wanted to leave. He knew that the Lord was making him suffer.
21King Uzziah had the skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house because he had the disease. And he wasn’t allowed to enter the Lord’s temple. Uzziah’s son Jotham was in charge of the palace. Jotham ruled over the people of the land.
22The other events of Uzziah’s rule from beginning to end were written down by Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah was the son of Amoz. 23Uzziah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried near them in a royal burial ground. People said, “He had a skin disease.” Uzziah’s son Jotham became the next king after him.
