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2 Chronicles 26:18

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.”
2 Chronicles 26:18 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They resisted Uzziah the king, and said to him, “It isn’t for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed. It will not be for your honor from Yahweh God.”
  • KJV 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.
  • NKJV And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”
  • NASB They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been untrue and will have no honor from the Lord God.”
  • NLT They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The priests told Uzziah that burning incense belonged only to the consecrated sons of Aaron and ordered him out for his trespass. They upheld the God-ordained boundary between king and priest.

Overview

The priests rightly insisted that only consecrated descendants of Aaron could offer incense, warning that Uzziah's act would bring no honor. Their stand defended the distinction God had established between civil and priestly offices. This separation pointed forward to Christ, who alone unites the offices of king and priest perfectly and lawfully (Hebrews 7).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Exod 30:7–8And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.
  • Num 18:7But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
  • Jer 13:18Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”
  • Heb 5:4No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.
  • 2 Chr 19:2Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you.
  • 2 Cor 5:16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
  • Gal 2:11When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.
  • 1 Cor 5:5hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.
  • Jas 2:1My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.
  • Matt 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
  • Matt 10:18On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
  • Matt 14:4because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
  • Num 16:39–40So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,
  • John 5:44How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
  • Num 16:46–48Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
  • 1 Sam 2:30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
  • 2 Chr 16:7–9At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
  • Dan 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

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Christ at the center

Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.

How 2 Chronicles 26:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

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