2 Chronicles 33

1 Manasseh is a son of twelve years in his reigning, and he has reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem;

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

2 and he does evil in the eyes of YHWH, like the abominations of the nations that YHWH dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the disgusting things of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel.

3 and he turns and builds the high places that his father Hezekiah has broken down, and raises altars for Ba‘alim, and makes Asherim, and bows himself to all the host of the heavens, and serves them.

For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he built altars for the Baals, he made Asherah poles, and he bowed down to all the stars of heaven and worshiped them.

4 And he has built altars in the house of YHWH of which YHWH had said, “My Name is in Jerusalem for all time.”

Manasseh built altars in the house of Yahweh, although Yahweh had commanded, “It is in Jerusalem that my name will be forever.”

5 And he builds altars for all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of YHWH.

He built altars for all the stars of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh.

6 And he has caused his sons to pass over through fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and observed clouds and used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and a wizard; he has multiplied to do evil in the eyes of YHWH, to provoke him to anger.

In the Valley of Ben Hinnom he caused his sons to pass through the fire. He practiced sorcery, divination and he read omens, and he consulted with those who talked with the dead and with those who talked with spirits. Manasseh did much evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he provoked him to anger.

7 And he places the carved image of the idol that he made in the house of God, of which God said to David, and to his son Solomon, “In this house, and in Jerusalem that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I put My Name for all time,

The carved figure he had made, he placed it in the house of God. It was about this house that God had spoken to David and Solomon his son; he had said, “It is in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that I will put my name forever.

8 and I do not add to turn aside the foot of Israel from off the ground that I appointed to your fathers, only, if they watch to do all that I have commanded them—to all the Law, and the statutes, and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.”

I will not move the people of Israel any more out of the land that I assigned to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to keep all that I have commanded them, following all the law, statutes, and decrees which I gave them through Moses.”

9 And Manasseh causes Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, to do evil above the nations that YHWH destroyed from the presence of the sons of Israel.

Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil even more than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed before the people of Israel.

10 And YHWH speaks to Manasseh and to his people, and they have not attended,

Yahweh spoke to Manasseh, and to his people, but they paid no attention.

11 and YHWH brings in against them the heads of the host that the king of Asshur has, and they capture Manasseh among the thickets, and bind him with bronze chains, and cause him to go to Babylon.

So Yahweh brought on them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and took him off to Babylon.

12 And when he is in distress he has appeased the face of his God YHWH, and is exceedingly humbled before the God of his fathers,

When Manasseh was in distress, he implored Yahweh, his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.

13 and prays to Him, and He accepts his plea, and hears his supplication, and brings him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom, and Manasseh knows that He, YHWH, [is] God.

He prayed to him; and God was begged by him, and God heard his begging and brought him back to Jerusalem, into his kingship. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

14 And after this he has built an outer wall for the City of David, on the west of Gihon, in the valley, and at the entering in at the Fish Gate, and it has gone around to the tower, and he makes it exceedingly high, and he puts heads of the force in all the cities of the bulwarks in Judah.

After this, Manasseh built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, to the entrance at the Fish Gate. He surrounded the hill of Ophel with it and raised the wall up to a very great height. He put courageous commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

15 And he turns aside the gods of the stranger, and the idol, out of the house of YHWH, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of YHWH and in Jerusalem, and casts [them] to the outside of the city.

He took away the foreign gods, the idol out of the house of Yahweh, and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and threw them out of the city.

16 And he builds the altar of YHWH, and sacrifices on it sacrifices of peace-offerings and thank-offering, and commands to Judah to serve YHWH, God of Israel;

He rebuilt the altar of Yahweh and offered on it sacrifices of fellowship offerings and thank offerings; he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.

17 but still the people are sacrificing in high places, only—to their God YHWH.

However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to Yahweh, their God.

18 And the rest of the matters of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the matters of the seers, those speaking to him in the Name of YHWH, God of Israel, behold, they are [on the scroll of] the matters of the kings of Israel;

As to the other matters concerning Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the deeds of the kings of Israel.

19 and his prayer, and his plea, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places in which he had built high places, and established the Asherim and the carved images before his being humbled, behold, they are written beside the matters of Hozai.

In that account there is history of his prayer, and how God was moved by it. There is also an account of all his sin and his trespasses, and the places where he had built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the carved figures, before he humbled himself—they are written about in the Chronicles of the Seers.

20 And Manasseh lies with his fathers, and they bury him in his own house, and his son Amon reigns in his stead.

So Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in his own house. Amon, his son, became king in his place.

21 Amon [is] a son of twenty-two years in his reigning, and he has reigned two years in Jerusalem,

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

22 and he does evil in the eyes of YHWH, as his father Manasseh did, and Amon has sacrificed to all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made, and serves them,

He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh, his father, had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved figures that Manasseh his father had made, and he worshiped them.

23 and has not been humbled before YHWH, like the humbling of his father Manasseh, for Amon himself has multiplied guilt.

He did not humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. Instead, this same Amon trespassed more and more.

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

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

25 and the people of the land strike all those conspiring against King Amon, and the people of the land cause his son Josiah to reign in his stead.

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