Study Desk

And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful.

They confronted King Uzziah and said, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord . That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!"

So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord . His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.

When Uzziah died, he was buried with his ancestors; his grave was in a nearby burial field belonging to the kings, for the people said, "He had leprosy." And his son Jotham became the next king.

Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal.

Listen to me and return these prisoners you have taken, for they are your own relatives. Watch out, because now the Lord 's fierce anger has been turned against you!"

At that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help.

The Lord was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord .

He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, "Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them." But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah.

He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the Lord , the God of his ancestors.

We have also recovered all the items discarded by King Ahaz when he was unfaithful and closed the Temple. They are now in front of the altar of the Lord , purified and ready for use."

They brought seven bulls, seven rams, and seven male lambs as a burnt offering, together with seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the Temple, and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice the animals on the altar of the Lord .

The male goats for the sin offering were then brought before the king and the assembly of people, who laid their hands on them.

The priests then killed the goats as a sin offering and sprinkled their blood on the altar to make atonement for the sins of all Israel. The king had specifically commanded that this burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

The people brought to the Lord 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 male lambs for burnt offerings.

But there were too few priests to prepare all the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious about purifying themselves than the priests had been.

And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly.

This plan for keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people.

"For if you return to the Lord , your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you."

Since many of the people had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover lamb for them, to set them apart for the Lord .