2 Chronicles 33

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

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

2 He did evil in the Lord's sight by following the disgusting religious practices of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he made altars for the Baals and set up Asherah poles. He worshiped the sun, moon, and stars and served them.

For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.

4 He built altars in the Lord's Temple, about which the Lord had said, “I shall be honored in Jerusalem forever.”

He built altars in the LORD’s house, of which the LORD said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”

5 He built these altars to worship the sun, moon, and stars in both courtyards of the Lord's Temple.

He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of the LORD’s house.

6 He sacrificed his children by burning them to death in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and visited mediums and spiritists. He did a great deal of evil in the Lord's sight, making him angry.

He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits and with wizards. He did much evil in the LORD’s sight, to provoke him to anger.

7 He took a pagan idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, about which God had told David and his son Solomon, “I will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel.

He set the engraved image of the idol, which he had made, in God’s house, of which God 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, I will put my name forever.

8 If the Israelites are careful to follow everything I have instructed them to do—all the laws, commandments, and regulations, given through Moses—then I will not make them leave the land I granted your forefathers.”

I will not any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses.”

9 But Manasseh seduced Judah and the people of Jerusalem, leading them to commit even worse sins than the nations the Lord had destroyed before Israelites.

Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

10 The Lord warned Manasseh and his people, but they ignored him.

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they did not listen.

11 So the Lord sent the armies of Assyria with their commanders to attack them. The Assyrians captured Manasseh, put a hook through his nose, put bronze shackles on him, and took him away to Babylon.

Therefore the LORD brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

12 In his misery, asked the Lord God for help, repenting for his arrogance before the God of his forefathers.

When he was in distress, he begged the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

13 He prayed and prayed, and the Lord listened to his pleadings, so the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh was convinced that the Lord is God.

He prayed to him; and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

14 After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the Fish Gate, and around the hill of Ophel, and made it much higher. He also assigned army commanders to all the fortified towns of Judah.

Now after this, he built an outer wall to David’s city on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish gate. He encircled Ophel with it, and raised it up to a very great height; and he put valiant captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.

15 He disposed of the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord's Temple, together with all the altars he had built on the Temple hill and in Jerusalem, throwing all of them outside the city.

He took away the foreign gods and the idol out of the LORD’s house, and all the altars that he had built in the mountain of the LORD’s house and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.

16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed friendship offerings and thank offerings on it, and he instructed Judah to worship the Lord, the God of Israel.

He built up the LORD’s altar, and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

17 But the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

18 The rest of what Manasseh did, along with his prayer to his God and what he was told by the seers who spoke on the Lord's behalf are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the acts of the kings of Israel.

19 His prayer and how God answered him, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he admitted he was wrong, are recorded in the Records of the Seers.

His prayer also, and how God listened to his request, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the engraved images before he humbled himself: behold, they are written in the history of Hozai.

20 Manasseh died and was buried at his palace. His son Amon took over as king.

So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house; and Amon his son reigned in his place.

21 Amon was twenty-two when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for two years.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

22 He did evil in the Lord's sight just as his father Manasseh had. Amon worshiped and sacrificed to all the idols his father Manasseh had made.

He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, as did Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed to all the engraved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.

23 However, he did not admit his pride before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done—in fact Amon made his guilt even worse.

He did not humble himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but this same Amon trespassed more and more.

24 Then Amon's officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace.

His servants conspired against him, and put him to death in his own house.

25 But the people of the land killed everyone who had plotted against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king.

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