2 Chronicles 33

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he was ruling for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

Manasses was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, copying the disgusting ways of the nations whom the Lord had sent out of the land before the children of Israel.

And he did evil before the Lord, according to all the abominations of the nations, which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel:

3 For he put up again the high places which had been pulled down by his father Hezekiah; and he made altars for the Baals, and pillars of wood, and was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven;

And he turned, and built again the high places which Ezechias his father had destroyed: and he built altars to Baalim, and made groves, and he adored all the host of heaven, and worshipped them.

4 And he made altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem will my name be for ever.

He built also altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said: In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

5 And he made altars for all the stars of heaven in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord.

And he built them for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

6 More than this, he made his children go through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he made use of secret arts, and signs for reading the future, and unnatural powers, and gave positions to those who had control of spirits and to wonder-workers: he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, moving him to wrath.

And he made his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of Benennom: he observed dreams, followed divinations, gave himself up to magic arts, had with him magicians, and enchanters: and he wrought many evils before the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

7 And he put the image he had made in the house of God, the house of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, the town which I have made mine out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

He set also a graven, and a molten statue in the house of God, of which God had said to David, and to Solomon his son: In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever.

8 And never again will I let the feet of Israel be moved out of the land which I have given to their fathers; if only they will take care to do all my orders, even all the law and the orders and the rules given to them by Moses.

And I will not make the foot of Israel to be removed out of the land which I have delivered to their fathers: yet so if they will take heed to do what I hare commanded them, and all the law, and the ceremonies, and judgments by the hand of Moses.

9 And Manasseh made Judah and the people of Jerusalem go out of the true way, so that they did more evil than those nations whom the Lord gave up to destruction before the children of Israel.

So Manasses seduced Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to do evil beyond all the nations, which the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

10 And the word of the Lord came to Manasseh and his people, but they gave no attention.

And the Lord spoke to him, and to his people, and they would not hearken.

11 So the Lord sent against them the captains of the army of Assyria, who made Manasseh a prisoner and took him away in chains to Babylon.

Therefore he brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of the Assyrians: and they took Manasses, and carried him bound with chains and fetters to Babylon.

12 And crying out to the Lord his God in his trouble, he made himself low before the God of his fathers,

And after that he was in distress he prayed to the Lord his God: and did penance exceedingly before the God of his fathers.

13 And made prayer to him; and in answer to his prayer God let him come back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh was certain that the Lord was God.

And he entreated him, and besought him earnestly: and he heard his prayer, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom, and Manasses knew that the Lord was God.

14 After this he made an outer wall for the town of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, as far as the way into the town by the fish doorway; and he put a very high wall round the Ophel; and he put captains of the army in all the walled towns of Judah.

After this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, from the entering in of the fish gate round about to Ophel, and raised it up to a great height: and he appointed captains of the army in all the fenced cities of Juda:

15 He took away the strange gods and the image out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars he had put up on the hill of the Lord's house and in Jerusalem, and put them out of the town.

And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord: the altars also which he had made in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and he cast them all out of the city.

16 And he put the altar of the Lord in order, offering peace-offerings and praise-offerings on it, and said that all Judah were to be servants of the Lord, the God of Israel.

And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed upon it victims, and peace offerings, and praise: and he commanded Juda to serve the Lord the God of Israel.

17 However, the people still made offerings in the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places to the Lord their God.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words which the seers said to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded among the acts of the kings of Israel.

But the rest of the acts of Manasses, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the Lord the God of Israel, are contained in the words of the kings of Israel.

19 And the prayer which he made to God, and how God gave him an answer, and all his sin and his wrongdoing, and the places where he made high places and put up pillars of wood and images, before he put away his pride, are recorded in the history of the seers.

His prayer also, and his being heard, and all his sins, and contempt, and places wherein he built high places, and set up groves, and statues before he did penance, are written in the words of Hozai.

20 So Manasseh went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body to rest in his house, and Amon his son became king in his place.

And Manasses slept with his fathers. and they buried him in his house: and his son Amen reigned in his stead.

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king; and he was ruling for two years in Jerusalem.

Amen was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

22 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done; and Amon made offerings to all the images which his father Manasseh had made, and was their servant.

And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses his father had done: and he sacrificed to all the idols which Manasses his father had made, and served them.

23 He did not make himself low before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done, but went on sinning more and more.

And he did not humble himself before the Lord, as Manasses his father had humbled himself, but committed far greater sins.

24 And his servants made a secret design against him, and put him to death in his house.

And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

25 But the people of the land put to death all those who had taken part in the design against King Amon, and made his son Josiah king in his place.

But the rest of the multitude of the people slew them that had killed Amen, and made Josias his son king in his stead.