Jotham

5The LORD made the king sick with a skin disease. He had it until the day he died. So he lived in a separate house. His son Jotham ran the palace and led the people.

And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land.

NoteIn those days people with a bad skin disease had to live away from everyone else. Even a king had to. That is why Azariah lived in a separate house and his son ran things for him.

6The other things Azariah did are written down. They are in the book called the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

NoteKings kept writers who wrote down what happened each year. That record was called the chronicles. The book itself is lost now.

7Then Azariah died like his fathers before him. They buried him near them in the City of David. His son Jotham became king after him.

So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

NoteThe City of David was the oldest part of Jerusalem. Kings of Judah were buried there.

32Pekah son of Remaliah had been king of Israel for two years. Then Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.

33Jotham was 25 when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.

34He did what was right in the LORD's eyes. He did what his father Uzziah had done.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.

35But he did not take down the high places. People still made offerings and burned incense there. Jotham built the Upper Gate of the LORD's house.

Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD.

NoteThe LORD's house means the temple in Jerusalem. It was the special building where people worshiped God. The Upper Gate was one of the doorways into it.

36The other things Jotham did are written down. They are in the book called the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

37In those days the LORD began to send trouble to Judah. He sent Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah against them.

In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

NoteSyria, also called Aram, was the country just north of Israel. Judah now had enemies on two sides at once.

38Then Jotham died like his fathers before him. They buried him with them in the City of David. His son Ahaz became king after him.

And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

21King Uzziah had this skin disease until the day he died. He lived by himself in a separate house. He was not allowed to go to the LORD's temple. His son Jotham ran the king's house and led the people of the land.

And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

NoteIn those days a person with this skin disease had to live away from others. People were afraid it would spread. That is why the king lived alone and could not go to the temple.

22The rest of Uzziah's story, from start to finish, was written down by Isaiah son of Amoz. Isaiah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said.

Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.

23Uzziah died and was buried near his fathers. They buried him in a burial field that belonged to the kings, because people said, "He had a skin disease." His son Jotham became king after him.

So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

Note"His fathers" means the family members who died before him. Kings were usually buried in one special place together. Because of his disease, he was buried in a field close by instead.

1Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king. He ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.

Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.

NoteJerusalem was the biggest, most important city in the land. The king lived there and ruled from there. Bible stories about kings often name the king's mother too. Her family mattered, so people remembered her name.

2Jotham did what was right in God's eyes. He did the good things his father Uzziah had done. But Jotham did not go into God's temple. The people, though, kept doing wrong things.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly.

Note"In God's eyes" means the way God saw it. It is another way of saying God was pleased. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem. Only priests, the men who served God there, could go into its special rooms. Jotham's father Uzziah once went in when he should not have, and he got very sick. So Jotham stayed out.

3Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of God's temple. He also did a lot of work on the wall at the hill called Ophel.

He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

NoteThe Upper Gate was a big doorway leading into the temple yard. Ophel was a hill in Jerusalem, right below the temple. A thick stone wall around a city kept enemies out.

4He built cities in the hill country of Judah. In the forests he built strong towers and safe places to hide.

Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

NoteJudah was the land where Jotham was king. The hill country is the bumpy, high part of that land. Towers were tall stone buildings. A guard stood on top and watched for enemies coming.

5Jotham went to war against the king of the Ammonites, and he won. That year the Ammonites gave him a hundred talents of silver. They also gave him ten thousand large measures of wheat and ten thousand of barley. They paid him the same amount the next year and the year after that.

He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third.

NoteThe Ammonites were people who lived east of Judah, across the Jordan River. They and Judah often fought each other. A talent was a weight, about as heavy as a big bag of dog food. So a hundred talents of silver was a huge pile of money. Each large measure of grain was about as much as a bathtub would hold. Wheat and barley are grains. People ground them up to make bread. When one king beat another, the loser paid money and food every year. That kept the stronger king from attacking again.

6So Jotham grew strong. This happened because he lived his life the way God wanted.

So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

7The other things Jotham did, all his wars and his ways, are written down. You can read them in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8He was twenty-five years old when he became king. He ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem.

He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

9Then Jotham died, like his family before him. They buried him in the City of David. His son Ahaz became the next king.

And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.