Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Chronicles 26:18

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 honor from the LORD God.

18. the priests the sons of Aaron ] Cp. 2Ch 13:10-11 and Num 16:40. neither shall it be for thine honour ] A euphemism, a threat of danger and disgrace.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

They withstood Uzziah; Heb. stood up against Uzziah; not by force, or laying hands upon him to restrain him, for in the next verse you still find the censer in his hand; but only by admonition and reproof, which here follows.

Neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God; expect that God will punish thee, or put some brand of infamy upon thee, for this presumption. But this they express modestly, and by a figure called meiosis, where more is meant than is expressed, because they considered that he to whom they spake, though an offender, was their lord and sovereign.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And they withstood Uzziah the king,…. They not only stood against him, but stood about him, surrounded him, so as to hinder him from approaching the altar of incense:

and said unto him, it appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord; it did not belong to his office as a king, it was no part of it

but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense; and to them only; for even the Levites might not do it, only those of the tribe of Levi, that descended from Aaron, see Nu 16:35,

go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed; by going into that:

neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God; but to his hurt, and be a brand of infamy upon him; for more is designed than is expressed, and as the event showed.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(18) They withstood.Amad al, a late usage. (Comp. 1Ch. 21:1.)

It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense.Comp. the construction (1Ch. 15:2).

Trespassed.Done faithlessly (maal), 2Ch. 26:16.

Neither shall it be . . . Lord God.Literally, and not to thee (is it) for honour from Jehovah; i.e., thine act will not issue in honour, as thou thinkest, but in shame. Or, perhaps, And burning incense belongs not to thee as a prerogative from Jehovah (n, not l, would be more natural).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

18. They withstood Uzziah Azariah and his assistants were too frail of zeal and respect for the law and service of Jehovah not to resist such high-handed offence.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

2Ch 26:18. For thou hast trespassed, &c. For it is not lawful for thee to assume that honour, contrary to the will of God. Houbigant. What it was that tempted the king to this extravagant folly, is difficult to imagine; but the most likely conjecture is, that he had a vain ambition to imitate heathen princes, who in several countries joined the regal and sacerdotal offices together. But, however it may be in all other countries, the priesthood in Judea was confined to the house of Aaron only; and every one who pretended to usurp that office was, by the law of the land, to be put to death. See Num 18:7. Therefore God smote Uzziah with such a disease as was a kind of death, because it separated the person afflicted with it from the commerce and society of men, even as if he were departed this world. See Joseph. Bell. Jud 1:25; Jud 1:9 cap. 11 and Calmet.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

2Ch 26:18 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.

Ver. 18. And they withstood Uzziah the king. ] Wherein they became an example of courage and piety, to ministers especially, who must withstand the torrent of vices, and not spare to reprove the greatest, if need be; as Nathan did David, as John Baptist did Herod, as Ambrose did Theodosius. This emperor, when he was at Thessalonica, in revenge of certain of his judges slain there in an uproar and tumult of the people, made a great slaughter among them by his soldiers, who destroyed seven thousand of the citizens. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, heard hereof to his great grief; and when the emperor, afterwards returning to Milan, would have come, as his manner had been, to the holy assembly, he stoutly withstood him, saying, Quibus oculis intuebere templum illius qui est omnium Dominus, &c.? With what face canst thou look him in the face who is Lord of all? With what feet canst thou enter his house, whom thou hast so deeply displeased? How canst thou receive his body with those hands of thine so drenched in Christian blood? Or drink his blood with that mouth that commanded such an inhuman slaughter? Recede igitur, et ne conare novo scelere scelus ante editum augers, &c. Depart, therefore, and go not about to add one wickedness to another; but stand thou excommunicated, till by repentance thou hast obtained pardon of God, and given satisfaction to his offended people. The good emperor – who having been religiously bred, knew well what was fit for a king to do, and what for a bishop – returned hereupon to his palace, after that he had acknowledged the greatness of his sin, where also he spent eight months in weeping and lamentation; and then coming to Ambrose, he begged pardon and absolution; which after many rebukes, at length he obtained. a

It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah. ] Chrysostom b much admiring this speech, Vide, saith he, libertatem: Vide mentem servire nesciam: Vide linguam caelos attingentem: Vide libertatera incoercibilem: Vide hominis corpus et angel; mentem, &c. See what a gallant spirit this man was of, and of what a bold speech; he had the body of a man, but the mind of an angel, &c.

a Theodoret.

b Hom. iv., De Verb. Isaiae.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)