Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Chronicles 26:19 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 19. 19Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The traditional KJV word renders tsara'at, a ritual skin-condition category broader than modern Hansen's disease. In 2 Chronicles 26:19, “leprosy” belongs to the complete movement “Uzziah trespasses at the incense altar and develops a skin disease.”
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 26:16–21
Read 2 Chronicles 26:19 with 26:16–21. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: When strong, Uzziah becomes proud, enters the temple to burn incense, resists eighty priests led by Azariah, develops tsara'at on his forehead, and lives separately while Jotham governs.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Uzziah trespasses at the incense altar and develops a skin disease,” 2 Chronicles 26:19 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The Chronicler draws a firm institutional boundary between royal power and priestly service, then narrates bodily consequence. Uzziah's strength leads into cultic trespass and priestly resistance; Jotham's later refusal to enter the temple repeats the boundary without making skin disease a timeless punishment formula.
Read 2 Chronicles 26:16–21 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 26:16–21 forms the complete movement “Uzziah trespasses at the incense altar and develops a skin disease”: When strong, Uzziah becomes proud, enters the temple to burn incense, resists eighty priests led by Azariah, develops tsara'at on his forehead, and lives separately while Jotham governs.
Verse 16. 16 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
Verse 17. 17 And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men:
Verse 18. 18 And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.
Verse 19. 19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.
Verse 20. 20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.
Verse 21. 21 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.
Follow the Context
- When strong, Uzziah becomes proud, enters the temple to burn incense, resists eighty priests led by Azariah, develops tsara'at on his forehead, and lives separately while Jotham governs.
- The Chronicler draws a firm institutional boundary between royal power and priestly service, then narrates bodily consequence.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“leprosy”
In plain language: The traditional KJV word renders tsara'at, a ritual skin-condition category broader than modern Hansen's disease.
In 2 Chronicles 26:19, “leprosy” belongs to the complete movement “Uzziah trespasses at the incense altar and develops a skin disease.”
Why it matters: This wording materially sharpens the passage-specific meaning or boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Chronicles 26:19 does not permit the wording “Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The passage does not make skin disease proof of sin, justify disability stigma or isolation today, condemn medical care, or give clergy unaccountable power.
What Remains True
Temple repair, prophetic truth, warfare, royal strength, priestly boundaries, illness, and succession show that good beginnings and institutional service never excuse later abuse. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: When strong, Uzziah becomes proud, enters the temple to burn incense, resists eighty priests led by Azariah, develops tsara'at on his forehead, and lives separately while Jotham governs. In 2 Chronicles 26:19, the concrete line “Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was….” Use transparent finances and skilled work, protect prophets and workers, refuse cruelty after victory, maintain role boundaries, and never stigmatize disease or disability. This response follows from the unit's own movement: When strong, Uzziah becomes proud, enters the temple to burn incense, resists eighty priests led by Azariah, develops tsara'at on his forehead, and lives separately while Jotham governs.
Teach It Back
Explain why 2 Chronicles 26:19 shows anger and censer in hand when the skin condition appears. Use 26:16–21, paraphrase “Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Chronicles 26:16–21 — Uzziah trespasses at the incense altar and develops a skin diseaseSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The text explicitly links trespass and tsara'at in this case; the ancient category is broader than Hansen's disease and cannot be generalized or clinically reconstructed.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Chronicles 26:16–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 26:16–21
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 2 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 2 Chronicles 26:16–21, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗