1-3 After the death of King Amaziah, the people of Judah crowned his son Uzziah king, even though he was only sixteen at the time. Uzziah ruled fifty-two years from Jerusalem, the home town of his mother Jecoliah. During his rule, he recaptured and rebuilt the town of Elath.
4 He obeyed the Lord by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done.
5 Zechariah was Uzziah's adviser and taught him to obey God. And so, as long as Zechariah was alive, Uzziah was faithful to God, and God made him successful.
6 While Uzziah was king, he started a war against the Philistines. He smashed the walls of the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod, then rebuilt towns around Ashdod and in other parts of Philistia.
7 God helped him defeat the Philistines, the Arabs living in Gur-Baal, and the Meunites.
8 Even the Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. He became very powerful, and people who lived as far away as Egypt heard about him.