2 Chronicles 26:15-21 ▼

15 And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was helped tremendously so that he became powerful.

16 But when Uzziah grew powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

17 Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the LORD, went in after him.

18 They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.”

19 Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him.

21 So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace to govern the people of the land.