King Manasseh of Judah(A)
33 Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 55 years in Jerusalem.
2 He did what Yahweh considered evil by copying the disgusting things done by the nations that Yahweh had forced out of the Israelites’ way. 3 He rebuilt the illegal places of worship that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He set up altars dedicated to other gods—the Baals—and made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh, like Ahab, worshiped and served the entire army of heaven. 4 He built altars in Yahweh’s temple, where Yahweh had said, “My name will be in Jerusalem forever.” 5 In the two courtyards of Yahweh’s temple, he built altars for the entire army of heaven. 6 He burned his son as a sacrifice in the valley of Ben Hinnom, consulted fortunetellers, cast evil spells, practiced witchcraft, and appointed royal mediums and psychics. He did many things that made Yahweh furious. 7 Manasseh had a carved idol made. Then he set it up in Elohim’s temple, where Elohim had said to David and his son Solomon, “I have chosen this temple and Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. I will put my name here forever. 8 I will never again remove Israel from the land that I set aside for their ancestors if they will obey all the commands, all the teachings, the ordinances, and the regulations I gave through Moses.” 9 Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that they did more evil things than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed when the Israelites arrived in the land.
10 When Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and his people, they wouldn’t even pay attention. 11 So Yahweh made the army commanders of the king of Assyria invade Judah. They took Manasseh captive, put a hook in his nose, put him in bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
12 When he experienced this distress, he begged Yahweh his Elohim to be kind and humbled himself in front of the Elohim of his ancestors. 13 He prayed to Yahweh, and Yahweh accepted his prayer and listened to his request. Yahweh brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh is Elohim.
14 After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon Spring in the valley to the entrance of Fish Gate. He made the wall go around the Ophel, and he built it very high. He put army commanders in every fortified city in Judah.
15 Manasseh got rid of the foreign gods and the idol in Yahweh’s temple. He got rid of the altars he had built in the temple on Yahweh’s mountain and in Jerusalem. 16 He built Yahweh’s altar and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it. And he told Judah to serve Yahweh Elohim of Israel. 17 The people continued to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship, but they sacrificed only to Yahweh their Elohim.
18 Everything else about Manasseh—including his prayer to his Elohim and the words that the seers[a] spoke to him in the name of Yahweh Elohim of Israel—are in the records of the kings of Israel. 19 His prayer and how Elohim accepted it are written in the records of Hozai. The things he did before he humbled himself are also written there. This includes all his sins and unfaithfulness and the places where he built illegal worship sites and set up idols and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.
20 Manasseh lay down in death with his ancestors. They buried him in his own palace. His son Amon succeeded him as king.
King Amon of Judah(B)
21 Amon was 22 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 2 years in Jerusalem. 22 He did what Yahweh considered evil, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and he worshiped them. 23 He didn’t humble himself in front of Yahweh as his father Manasseh had humbled himself. Instead, Amon continued to sin.
24 His officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. 25 Then the people of the land killed everyone who had plotted against King Amon. They made his son Josiah king in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 33:18 Seers are prophets.