2 Chronicles 33

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

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

2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the nations, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

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.

3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

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.

4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD said: 'In Jerusalem shall My name be for ever.'

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

5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

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

6 He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practised soothsaying, and used enchantments, and practised sorcery, and appointed them that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit; he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him.

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.

7 And he set the graven image of the idol, which he had made, in the house of God, 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, will I put My name for ever;

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.

8 neither will I 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 and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.'

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.”

9 And Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, so that they did evil more than did the nations, whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

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.

10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh, and to his people; but they gave no heed.

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

11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

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.

12 And when he was in distress, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

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

13 And he prayed unto Him; and He was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD He was God.

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.

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

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.

15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.

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.

16 And he built up the altar of the LORD, and offered thereon sacrifices of peace-offerings and of thanksgiving, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

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.

17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, but only unto the LORD their God.

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

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that 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.

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.

19 His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his transgression, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up the Asherim and the graven images, before he humbled himself; behold, they are written in the history of the seers.

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.

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

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

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

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

22 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed unto all the graven images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.

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.

23 And he humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but this same Amon became guilty more and more.

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

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

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

25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

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