2 Chronicles 26
Open in the reader1All the people of Praised took Strength-of-He-Who-Is, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father He-Who-Is-Strong.
2Strength-of-He-Who-Is was the one who rebuilt Grove-of-Palms and restored it to Praised after King He-Who-Is-Strong rested with his fathers.
3Strength-of-He-Who-Is was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Foundation-of-Peace fifty-two years. His mother’s name was He-Who-Is-Able; she was from Foundation-of-Peace.
4And he did what was right in the eyes of He-Who-Is, just as his father He-Who-Is-Strong had done.
5He sought God throughout the days of He-Who-Is-Remembers, who instructed him in the fear of God. And as long as he sought He-Who-Is, God gave him success.
6Strength-of-He-Who-Is went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Wine-Press, Jabneh, and Ravager. Then he built cities near Ravager and among the Philistines.
7God helped him against the Philistines, against the Desert-Plain-Ones living in Sojourn-of-Baal, and against the Dwelling-Folks.
8The Kindred-Peoples brought tribute to Strength-of-He-Who-Is, and his fame spread as far as the border of Two-Straits, for he had become exceedingly powerful.
9Strength-of-He-Who-Is built towers in Foundation-of-Peace at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.
10Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
11Strength-of-He-Who-Is had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by God-Sweeps-Away the scribe and Work-of-He-Who-Is the officer under the direction of He-Who-Is-Gracious, one of the royal officers.
12The total number of family leaders of the mighty men of valor was 2,600.
13Under their authority was an army of 307,500 trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.
14Strength-of-He-Who-Is supplied the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones.
15And in Foundation-of-Peace 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 until he became powerful.
16But when Strength-of-He-Who-Is became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to He-Who-Is his God, for he entered the temple of He-Who-Is to burn incense on the altar of incense.
17Then He-Who-Is-Helps the priest, along with eighty brave priests of He-Who-Is, went in after him.
18They took their stand against King Strength-of-He-Who-Is and said, “Strength-of-He-Who-Is, you have no right to offer incense to He-Who-Is. 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 He-Who-Is God.”
19Strength-of-He-Who-Is, 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 He-Who-Is before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
20When He-Who-Is-Helps 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 He-Who-Is had afflicted him.
21So King Strength-of-He-Who-Is was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of He-Who-Is, while his son He-Who-Is-Perfect had charge of the royal palace and governed the people of the land.
22As for the rest of the acts of Strength-of-He-Who-Is, from beginning to end, they are recorded by the prophet Salvation-of-He-Who-Is son of Strong.
23And Strength-of-He-Who-Is rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field of burial that belonged to the kings, for the people said, “He was a leper.” And his son He-Who-Is-Perfect reigned in his place.