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Venerdi, 29 marzo 2024 - Santi Simplicio e Costantino ( Letture di oggi)

2 Kings 16


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1In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.2Ahaz was twenty years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem.He did not do what Yahweh his God regards as right, as his ancestor David had done.3He followed the example of the kings of Israel, even causing his son to pass through the fire ofsacrifice, also copying the disgusting practices of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed for the Israelites.4He offered sacrifices and incense on the high places, on the hil s and under every luxuriant tree.5Then it was that Razon king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, launched theircampaign against Jerusalem. They besieged it but could not reduce it.6(At that time, the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom; he drove the Judaeans out of Elath, and theEdomites occupied it and have been there ever since.)7Ahaz then sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria to say, 'I am your servant and your son.Come and rescue me from the king of Aram and the king of Israel who are making war on me.'8And Ahaz took what silver and gold was to be found in the Temple of Yahweh and in the palacetreasury, and sent this as a present to the king of Assyria.9The king of Assyria granted his request and, marching on Damascus, captured it; he deported itspopulation to Kir and put Razon to death.10When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar whichwas in Damascus. King Ahaz then sent a picture and model of the altar, with details of its construction, to Uriahthe priest.11Uriah the priest constructed the altar; al the instructions sent by King Ahaz from Damascus werecarried out by Uriah the priest before King Ahaz returned from Damascus.12When the king arrived from Damascus, he inspected the altar, he approached it and ascended it.13And on the altar he made his burnt offering and his oblation; he poured out his libation and sprinkledthe blood of his communion sacrifices.14The altar which used to stand before Yahweh he removed from the front of the Temple, where it hadstood between the new altar and the Temple of Yahweh, and placed it at the north side of the new altar.15King Ahaz gave this order to Uriah the priest, 'In future you wil present the morning burnt offering, theevening oblation, the king's burnt offering and oblation, the burnt offering, the oblation and the libations of al thepeople of the country on the large altar; on it you will pour out al the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices.As regards the bronze altar, I shal see to that.'16Uriah the priest did everything that King Ahaz had ordered.17King Ahaz broke up the wheeled stands; removed the crosspieces and the basins from them, andtook the bronze Sea off the oxen supporting it, and rested it on the stone pavement.18And from the Temple of Yahweh, in deference to the king of Assyria, he removed the dais for thethrone which had been built inside, and the royal entrance on the outside.19The rest of the history of Ahaz, his entire career, is this not recorded in the Book of the Annals of theKings of Judah?20Then Ahaz fel asleep with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David; his son Hezekiahsucceeded him.