2 Crônicas 29 - Bíblia Online

Ezequias tinha vinte e cinco anos de idade quando começou a reinar, e reinou vinte e nove anos em Jerusalém. O nome de sua mãe era Abia, filha de Zacarias. 
Ele fez o que o Senhor aprova, tal como tinha feito Davi, seu predecessor. 
No primeiro mês do primeiro ano de seu reinado, ele reabriu as portas do templo do Senhor e as consertou. 
Convocou os sacerdotes e os levitas, reuniu-os na praça que fica no lado leste 
e disse: "Escutem-me, levitas! Consagrem-se agora e consagrem o templo do Senhor, o Deus dos seus antepassados. Retirem tudo o que é impuro do santuário. 
Nossos pais foram infiéis; fizeram o que o Senhor, o nosso Deus, reprova e o abandonaram. Desviaram o rosto do local da habitação do Senhor e deram-lhe as costas. 
Também fecharam as portas do pórtico e apagaram as lâmpadas. Não queimaram incenso nem apresentaram holocausto no santuário para o Deus de Israel. 
Por isso, a ira do Senhor caiu sobre Judá e sobre Jerusalém; e ele fez deles objeto de espanto, horror e zombaria, conforme vocês podem ver com os seus próprios olhos. 
Por isso os nossos pais caíram à espada e os nossos filhos, as nossas filhas e as nossas mulheres foram levadas como prisioneiras. 
Pretendo, pois, agora fazer uma aliança com o Senhor, o Deus de Israel, para que o fogo da sua ira se afaste de nós. 
Meus filhos, não sejam negligentes agora, pois o Senhor os escolheu para estarem diante dele e o servirem, para ministrarem perante ele e queimarem incenso". 
Então estes levitas puseram-se a trabalhar: dentre os descendentes de Coate: Maate, filho de Amasai, e Joel, filho de Azarias; dentre os descendentes de Merari: Quis, filho de Abdi, e Azarias, filho de Jealelel; dentre os descendentes de Gérson: Joá, filho de Zima, e Éden, filho de Joá; 
dentre os descendentes de Elisafã: Sinri e Jeuel; dentre os descendentes de Asafe: Zacarias e Matanias; 
dentre os descendentes de Hemã: Jeuel e Simei; dentre os descendentes de Jedutum: Semaías e Uziel. 
Tendo reunido e consagrado os seus parentes, os levitas foram purificar o templo do Senhor, conforme o rei havia ordenado em obediência à palavra do Senhor. 
Os sacerdotes entraram no santuário do Senhor para purificá-lo e trouxeram para o pátio do templo do Senhor todas as coisas impuras que lá havia, e os levitas as levaram para o vale de Cedrom. 
Começaram a consagração no dia primeiro do primeiro mês, e no oitavo dia chegaram ao pórtico do Senhor. Durante mais oito dias consagraram o templo do Senhor propriamente dito, terminando tudo no dia dezesseis. 
Depois foram falar com o rei Ezequias e lhe relataram: "Purificamos todo o templo do Senhor, o altar dos holocaustos e a mesa do pão consagrado, ambos com todos seus utensílios. 
Preparamos e consagramos todos os utensílios que o rei Acaz, em sua infidelidade, retirou durante o seu reinado. Eles estão em frente do altar do Senhor". 
Cedo, na manhã seguinte, o rei Ezequias reuniu os líderes da cidade e, juntos, subiram ao templo do Senhor, 
levando sete novilhos, sete carneiros, sete cordeiros e sete bodes como oferta pelo pecado, em favor da realeza, do santuário e de Judá. O rei ordenou que os sacerdotes, descendentes de Arão, sacrificassem os animais no altar do Senhor. 
Então os sacerdotes abateram os novilhos e aspergiram o sangue sobre o altar; em seguida fizeram o mesmo com os carneiros e com os cordeiros. 
Depois, os bodes para a oferta pelo pecado foram levados para diante do rei e da assembléia, que impuseram as mãos sobre eles. 
Os sacerdotes abateram os bodes e apresentaram o sangue sobre o altar como oferta pelo pecado, para fazer propiciação por todo o Israel, pois era em favor de todo o Israel que o rei havia ordenado o holocausto e a oferta pelo pecado. 
O rei posicionou os levitas no templo do Senhor, com címbalos, liras e harpas, segundo a prescrição de Davi, de Gade, vidente do rei, e do profeta Natã; isso foi ordenado pelo Senhor, por meio de seus profetas. 
Assim os levitas ficaram em pé, preparados com os instrumentos de Davi, e os sacerdotes com as cornetas. 
Então Ezequias ordenou que sacrificassem o holocausto sobre o altar. Iniciado o sacrifício, começou também o canto ao Senhor, ao som das cornetas e dos instrumentos de Davi, rei de Israel. 
Toda a assembléia prostrou-se em adoração, enquanto os músicos cantavam e os corneteiros tocavam, até que terminou o holocausto. 
Então o rei e todos os presentes ajoelharam-se e adoraram. 
O rei Ezequias e seus oficiais ordenaram aos levitas que louvassem o Senhor com as palavras de Davi e do vidente Asafe. Eles louvaram com alegria, depois inclinaram suas cabeças e adoraram. 
Disse então Ezequias: "Agora que vocês se dedicaram ao Senhor, tragam sacrifícios e ofertas de gratidão ao templo do Senhor". Assim, a comunidade levou sacrifícios e ofertas de gratidão, e alguns, espontaneamente, levaram também holocaustos. 
Esses holocaustos que a assembléia ofertou ao Senhor foram setenta bois, cem carneiros e duzentos cordeiros. 
Os animais consagrados como sacrifícios chegaram a seiscentos bois e três mil ovelhas e bodes. 
Como os sacerdotes eram muito poucos para tirar a pele de todos os holocaustos, os seus parentes, os levitas, os ajudaram até o fim da tarefa e até que outros sacerdotes se consagrassem, pois os levitas demoraram menos para se consagrarem do que os sacerdotes. 
Houve holocaustos em grande quantidade, oferecidos com a gordura das ofertas de comunhão e com as ofertas derramadas que acompanhavam esses holocaustos. Assim foi restabelecido o culto no templo do Senhor. 
Ezequias e todo o povo regozijavam-se com o que Deus havia feito por seu povo, e tudo em tão pouco tempo. 

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 
He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 
In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. 
He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 
and said: "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 
Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the LORD's dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 
They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 
Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 
This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 
Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 
My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense." 
Then these Levites set to work: from the Kohathites, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; from the Merarites, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; from the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah; 
from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 
from the descendants of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; from the descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 
When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD. 
The priests went into the sanctuary of the LORD to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the LORD's temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the LORD. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley. 
They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the LORD. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month. 
Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: "We have purified the entire temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. 
We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the LORD's altar." 
Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the LORD. 
They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering "for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the LORD. 
So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and splashed their blood against the altar. 
The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 
The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel. 
He stationed the Levites in the temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king's seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the LORD through his prophets. 
So the Levites stood ready with David's instruments, and the priests with their trumpets. 
Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the LORD began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. 
The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed. 
When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. 
King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped. 
Then Hezekiah said, "You have now dedicated yourselves to the LORD. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the LORD." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings. 
The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs —all of them for burnt offerings to the LORD. 
The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. 
The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. 
There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished. 
Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly. 

2 Crônicas 30