2 Cronache 29
Nuova Riveduta 1994
Ezechia re di Giuda; purificazione del tempio
29 (A)*Ezechia aveva venticinque anni quando cominciò a regnare, e regnò ventinove anni a *Gerusalemme. Sua madre si chiamava Abiia, figlia di Zaccaria.
2 Egli fece ciò che è giusto agli occhi del Signore, proprio come aveva fatto *Davide suo padre.
3 Nel primo anno del suo regno, nel primo mese, riaprí le porte della casa del Signore, e le restaurò. 4 Fece venire i *sacerdoti e i *Leviti, li radunò sulla piazza orientale, 5 e disse loro: «Ascoltatemi, o Leviti! Ora santificatevi, e santificate la casa del Signore, Dio dei vostri padri, e portate fuori dal *santuario ogni immondezza. 6 I nostri padri infatti sono stati infedeli e hanno fatto ciò che è male agli occhi del Signore, nostro Dio, l'hanno abbandonato, hanno cessato di volger la faccia verso la casa del Signore, e le hanno voltato le spalle. 7 Hanno chiuso le porte del portico, hanno spento le lampade, non hanno piú bruciato profumi né offerto olocausti nel santuario del Dio d'*Israele. 8 Perciò l'ira del Signore ha colpito *Giuda e Gerusalemme; egli li ha abbandonati alle oppressioni, alla desolazione e agli scherni, come vedete con i vostri occhi. 9 Ed ecco per questo, i nostri padri sono periti di spada, e i nostri figli, le nostre figlie e le nostre mogli sono deportati. 10 Ora io ho in cuore di fare un patto con il Signore, Dio d'Israele, affinché la sua ira ardente si allontani da noi. 11 Figli miei, non siate negligenti; perché il Signore ha scelto voi affinché stiate davanti a lui per servirlo, per essere suoi ministri, e per offrirgli incenso».
12 Allora i Leviti si alzarono: Maat, figlio di Amasai, Ioel, figlio di Azaria dei figli di Cheat. Dei figli di Merari: Chis, figlio d'Abdi, e Azaria, figlio di Iealleleel. Dei Ghersoniti: Ioà, figlio di Zimma, e Eden, figlio di Ioa. 13 Dei figli di Elisafan: Simri e Ieiel. Dei figli di *Asaf: Zaccaria e Mattania. 14 Dei figli di Eman: Ieiel e Simei. Dei figli di Iedutun: Semaia e Uzziel. 15 Essi riunirono i loro fratelli e, dopo essersi santificati, vennero a purificare la casa del Signore, secondo l'ordine del re, conformemente alle parole del Signore. 16 I sacerdoti entrarono nell'interno della casa del Signore per purificarla, e portarono fuori, nel *cortile della casa del Signore tutte le immondezze che trovarono nel *tempio del Signore; i Leviti le presero per portarle fuori e gettarle nel torrente *Chidron. 17 Cominciarono queste purificazioni il primo giorno del primo mese; l'ottavo giorno dello stesso mese vennero al portico del Signore; impiegarono otto giorni per purificare la casa del Signore; il sedicesimo giorno del primo mese avevano finito.
18 Allora andarono dal re Ezechia, nel suo palazzo, e gli dissero: «Abbiamo purificato tutta la casa del Signore, l'altare degli olocausti con tutti i suoi utensili, la tavola dei *pani di presentazione con tutti i suoi utensili. 19 Abbiamo pure rimesso in buono stato e purificato tutti gli utensili che il re Acaz aveva profanati durante il suo regno, quando si rese infedele; ed ecco, stanno davanti all'altare del Signore».
Ezechia ristabilisce il culto nel tempio
20 (B)Allora Ezechia, alzatosi presto, riuní i capi della città, e salí alla casa del Signore. 21 Essi condussero sette tori, sette montoni, sette agnelli e sette capri, come sacrificio per il peccato, in favore del regno, del santuario e di Giuda. E il re ordinò ai sacerdoti, figli d'*Aaronne, d'offrirli sull'altare del Signore. 22 I sacerdoti scannarono i buoi, ne raccolsero il sangue, e lo sparsero sull'altare; scannarono i montoni, e ne sparsero il sangue sull'altare; e scannarono gli agnelli, e ne sparsero il sangue sull'altare. 23 Poi condussero i capri del sacrificio per il peccato davanti al re e all'assemblea, e questi posarono su di loro le mani. 24 I sacerdoti li scannarono, e ne offrirono il sangue sull'altare come sacrificio per il peccato, per fare l'espiazione dei peccati di tutto Israele; poiché il re aveva ordinato che si offrisse l'olocausto e il sacrificio per il peccato, in favore di tutto Israele. 25 Il re stabilí i Leviti nella casa del Signore, con cembali, con saltèri e con cetre, secondo l'ordine di Davide, di *Gad, il *veggente del re, e del *profeta *Natan; poiché tale era il comandamento dato dal Signore per mezzo dei suoi profeti. 26 E i Leviti presero il loro posto con gli strumenti di Davide; e i sacerdoti, con le trombe. 27 Allora Ezechia ordinò che si offrisse l'olocausto sull'altare; e nel momento in cui si cominciò l'olocausto, cominciò pure il canto del Signore e il suono delle trombe, con l'accompagnamento degli strumenti di Davide, re d'Israele. 28 Tutta l'assemblea s'inchinò, e i cantori cominciarono a cantare e le trombe a sonare; tutto questo continuò fino alla fine dell'olocausto. 29 Quando l'offerta dell'olocausto fu finita, il re e tutti quelli che erano con lui s'inchinarono e si prostrarono. 30 Poi il re Ezechia e i capi ordinarono ai Leviti di celebrare le lodi del Signore con le parole di Davide e del veggente Asaf; e quelli le celebrarono con gioia, e s'inchinarono e si prostrarono.
31 Allora Ezechia disse: «Ora che vi siete consacrati al Signore, avvicinatevi, e offrite vittime e sacrifici di ringraziamento nella casa del Signore». E l'assemblea condusse vittime e offrí sacrifici di ringraziamento; e tutti quelli che avevano il cuore ben disposto, offrirono olocausti. 32 Il numero degli olocausti offerti dall'assemblea fu di settanta buoi, cento montoni, duecento agnelli: tutto per l'olocausto al Signore. 33 Furono pure consacrati seicento buoi e tremila pecore. 34 Ma i sacerdoti erano troppo pochi, e non potevano scorticare tutti gli olocausti; perciò i loro fratelli, i Leviti, li aiutarono finché l'opera fu compiuta, e finché gli altri sacerdoti si furono santificati; perché i Leviti avevano messo piú zelo dei sacerdoti nel santificarsi. 35 C'era pure abbondanza di olocausti, oltre ai grassi dei sacrifici di riconoscenza e alle *libazioni degli olocausti. Cosí fu ristabilito il servizio della casa del Signore.
36 Ezechia e tutto il popolo si rallegrarono che Dio avesse ben disposto il popolo, perché la cosa si era fatta senza titubanza.
2 Chronicles 29
New King James Version
Hezekiah Reigns in Judah(A)
29 Hezekiah (B)became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was [a]Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.
Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he (C)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now [b]sanctify yourselves, (D)sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6 For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have (E)turned their faces away from the [c]dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. 7 (F)They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the (G)wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has (H)given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to (I)jeering, as you see with your (J)eyes. 9 For indeed, because of this (K)our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.
10 “Now it is in my heart to make (L)a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has (M)chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”
12 Then these Levites arose: (N)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the (O)Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, (P)sanctified[d] themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, (Q)to cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook (R)Kidron.
17 Now they began to [e]sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. 19 Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had (S)cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and [f]sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord.”
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20 Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a (T)sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and (U)sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their (V)hands on them. 24 And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering (W)to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.
25 (X)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, (Y)according to the commandment of David, of (Z)Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; (AA)for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments (AB)of David, and the priests with (AC)the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, (AD)the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had finished offering, (AE)the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. 30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and (AF)thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a (AG)willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore (AH)their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had [g]sanctified themselves, (AI)for the Levites were (AJ)more diligent in (AK)sanctifying themselves than the priests. 35 Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with (AL)the fat of the peace offerings and with (AM)the drink offerings for every burnt offering.
So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:1 Abi, 2 Kin. 18:2
- 2 Chronicles 29:5 consecrate
- 2 Chronicles 29:6 Temple
- 2 Chronicles 29:15 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 29:17 consecrate
- 2 Chronicles 29:19 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 29:34 consecrated
2 Chronicles 29
English Standard Version
Hezekiah Reigns in Judah
29 (A)Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah[a] the daughter of (B)Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he (C)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east 5 and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now (D)consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth[b] from the Holy Place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and (E)have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. 7 They also (F)shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore (G)the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them (H)an object of horror, of astonishment, (I)and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, (J)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now (K)it is in my heart (L)to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, (M)for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”
12 Then the Levites arose, (N)Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of (O)the Kohathites; and of the sons of (P)Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the (Q)Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of (R)Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of (S)Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of (T)Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of (U)Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and (V)consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, (W)by the words of the Lord, (X)to cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to (Y)the brook Kidron. 17 They began to consecrate (Z)on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils (AA)that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats (AB)for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood (AC)and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, (AD)and they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, (AE)to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 (AF)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, (AG)according to the commandment of David and of Gad (AH)the king's seer and of (AI)Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with (AJ)the instruments of David, (AK)and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, (AL)the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, (AM)the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, (AN)“You have now consecrated yourselves to[c] the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were (AO)of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, (AP)their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—(AQ)for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was (AR)the fat of the peace offerings, and there were (AS)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:1 Spelled Abi in 2 Kings 18:2
- 2 Chronicles 29:5 Hebrew impurity
- 2 Chronicles 29:31 Hebrew filled your hand for
Copyright © 1994 by Geneva Bible Society
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
