2 Chronicles 33

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

Twelve years old, was Manasseh when he began to reign, —and, fifty-five years, reigned he 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 the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, -according to the abominable ways of the nations, whom Yahweh dispossessed from before the sons 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 again built the high places, which Hezekiah his father had thrown down, —and set up altars to the Baalim, and made Sacred Stems, and bowed in prostration unto all the army of the heavens, and served 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.

and built altars in the house of Yahweh, —as to which Yahweh had said, In Jerusalem, shall be my Name, unto times age-abiding.

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

Yea he built altars unto all the army of the heavens, —in the two courts of the house of Yahweh.

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, caused his sons to pass through the fire, in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and practised hidden arts and used divination, and practised sorcery, and appointed a necromancer, and a wizard, —he exceeded in doing the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, 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:

and he set a resemblance-image which he had made, —in the house of God, as to which God had said unto David, and unto 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, unto times age-abiding.

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.

So will I not again remove the foot of Israel away from the soil which I appointed for their fathers. Only they must observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law and the statutes and the regulations, 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.

And so Manasseh led astray Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, —to commit wickedness beyond the nations which Yahweh had destroyed from before the sons of Israel.

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

And Yahweh spake unto Manasseh and unto his people, but they did not give ear.

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.

So Yahweh brought in upon them, the captains of the army that belonged to the king of Assyria, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, —and bound him captive with a pair of bronze fetters, and took him away to Babylon.

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

But, in his distress, he appeased the face of Yahweh his God, —and humbled himself greatly, 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, when he prayed unto him, then was he entreated of him, and hearkened unto his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem, unto his own kingdom, and so Manasseh came to know, that, Yahweh, is 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.

And, after this, he built an outer wall to the city of David on the west of the Gihon in the ravine, even to the entering in through the fish-gate, and went round to Ophel, and carried it up very high, —and put captains of valour in all the fortified cities, throughout Judah.

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 removed the gods of the foreigner and the image, out of the house of Yahweh, and all the altars that he had built in the mountain of the house of Yahweh, and in Jerusalem, —and he cast them forth outside 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 built the altar of Yahweh, and sacrificed thereon peace-offerings, and thanksgiving sacrifices, -and gave word to Judah to serve Yahweh, God of Israel.

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

Howbeit, still were, the people, sacrificing in the high places, —only unto Yahweh 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 story of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the story of the seers who spake unto him in the name of Yahweh God of Israel, there they are, in the story 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.

both his prayer and how [God] was entreated of him—and all his sin and his treacherous act, and the sites whereon he built high places, and set up the Sacred Stems and the images, before he humbled himself, there they are, written in the story of the seers.

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 Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the garden off his own house, —and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

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

Twenty-two years old, was Amon when he began to reign, —and, two years, reigned he 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 the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done, —and, unto all the images which Manasseh his father had made, Amon offered sacrifice, and did serve them.

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

But he did not humble himself before Yahweh as Manasseh his father humbled himself, —for, he, Amon, made guilt abound.

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 put him to death, 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 people of the land smote all the conspirators against King Amon, —and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.