2 Kings 21

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to rule. He ruled Judah for 55 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah.

2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He imitated the disgusting things that were formerly done by the people of the nations that Yahweh had expelled from the land of Israel as his people advanced [through the land].

3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.

He commanded his workers to rebuild the shrines [for worshiping Yahweh] that his father Hezekiah had destroyed [because they were not in the place that Yahweh had said they should worship him]. He directed his workers to build altars for worshiping Baal. He made [a statue of the goddess] Asherah, like Ahab the king of Israel had done [previously]. And Manasseh worshiped [DOU] the stars.

4 Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”

He directed his workers to build altars [for worshiping foreign gods] in the temple of Yahweh, about which Yahweh had said, “It is here in Jerusalem where I want people to worship [MTY] me, forever.”

5 In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.

He directed that altars for worshiping the stars be built in both of the courtyards outside the temple.

6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

He even sacrificed his own son by burning [him in a fire]. He performed rituals to practice sorcery and magic rituals. He also went to people who consulted the spirits of dead people to find out what would happen in the future. He did many things that Yahweh considered to be extremely evil, things that caused Yahweh to become very angry.

7 Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.

He placed the statue of the goddess Asherah in the temple, the place about which Yahweh had said to David and his son Solomon, “My temple will be here in Jerusalem. This is the city that I have chosen from all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel, where I want people to worship me, forever.

8 I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they are careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole Law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

And if the Israeli people obey all my commands and all the laws that I gave to Moses, the man who served me [very well], I will not again force them to leave this land that I gave to their ancestors.”

9 But the people did not listen and Manasseh led them astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

But the people did not heed Yahweh. And Manasseh persuaded them to commit sins that are more evil than the sins that were committed by the people of the nations that Yahweh had expelled from the land as the Israeli people advanced.

10 And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying,

[These are some of the things that] the prophets said many times, messages that Yahweh had given them:

11 “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin,

“Manasseh, the king of Judah, has done these abominable things, things that are much worse than the things that the Amor people-group did in this land long ago. He has persuaded the people of Judah to sin by [worshiping] idols.

12 this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.

Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh, the God whom you Israeli people worship, say: I will the cause the people of Jerusalem and the rest of Judah to experience great disasters. It will be terrible, with the result that everyone who hears about it will be stunned [MTY].

13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.

I will judge and punish [MET] the people of Jerusalem like I punished the family of King Ahab [of Israel]. I will (wipe Jerusalem clean/remove all the people from Jerusalem), like [MET] people wipe a plate and then turn it upside down [after they have finished eating, to show that they are now satisfied].

14 So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. And they will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies,

And I will abandon the people who remain alive, and I will allow their enemies to conquer them and steal everything valuable from their land.

15 because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt until this day.’”

I will do this because my people have done things that I consider to be very evil, things which have caused me to become very angry. They have caused me to become angry continually, ever since their ancestors left Egypt.”

16 Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

Manasseh [commanded his officials to] kill many innocent people in Jerusalem, with the result that their blood flowed in the streets. He did this in addition to persuading the people of Judah to sin against Yahweh [by worshiping idols].

17 As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

[If you want to know more about] all the things that Manasseh did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

18 And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

Manasseh died [EUP] and was buried in the garden outside his palace, the garden that Uzza [had made]. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became the king.

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king. He ruled Judah from Jerusalem for [only] two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth. She was from Jotbah [town], and was the granddaughter of Haruz.

20 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.

Amon did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, like his father Manasseh had done.

21 He walked in all the ways of his father, and he served and worshiped the idols his father had served.

He imitated the behavior of his father, and he worshiped the same idols that his father had worshiped [DOU].

22 He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.

He abandoned Yahweh, the God whom his ancestors [had worshiped], and did not behave as Yahweh wanted him to.

23 Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace.

Then one day some of his officials plotted to kill him. They assassinated him in the palace.

24 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

But then the people of Judah killed all those who had assassinated King Amon, and they appointed his son Josiah to be their king.

25 As for the rest of the acts of Amon, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

[If you want to read about] [RHQ] the other things that Amon did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah reigned in his place.

Amon was also buried in the tomb in the garden that Uzza [had made]. Then Amon’s son Josiah became the king.