2 Kings 21

1 A son of twelve years [is] Manasseh in his reigning, and fifty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Hephzi-Bah;

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to rule. He ruled Judah for 55 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah.

2 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He imitated the disgusting things that were formerly done by the people of the nations that Yahweh had expelled from the land of Israel as his people advanced [through the land].

3 and he turneth and buildeth the high places that Hezekiah his father destroyed, and raiseth altars for Baal, and maketh a shrine, as did Ahab king of Israel, and boweth himself to all the host of the heavens, and serveth them.

He commanded his workers to rebuild the shrines [for worshiping Yahweh] that his father Hezekiah had destroyed [because they were not in the place that Yahweh had said they should worship him]. He directed his workers to build altars for worshiping Baal. He made [a statue of the goddess] Asherah, like Ahab the king of Israel had done [previously]. And Manasseh worshiped [DOU] the stars.

4 And he hath built altars in the house of Jehovah, of which Jehovah said, 'In Jerusalem I put My name.'

He directed his workers to build altars [for worshiping foreign gods] in the temple of Yahweh, about which Yahweh had said, “It is here in Jerusalem where I want people to worship [MTY] me, forever.”

5 And he buildeth altars to all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Jehovah;

He directed that altars for worshiping the stars be built in both of the courtyards outside the temple.

6 and he hath caused his son to pass through fire, and observed clouds, and used enchantment, and dealt with a familiar spirit and wizards; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah — to provoke to anger.

He even sacrificed his own son by burning [him in a fire]. He performed rituals to practice sorcery and magic rituals. He also went to people who consulted the spirits of dead people to find out what would happen in the future. He did many things that Yahweh considered to be extremely evil, things that caused Yahweh to become very angry.

7 And he setteth the graven image of the shrine that he made in the house of which Jehovah said unto David and unto Solomon his son, 'In this house, and in Jerusalem, that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I put My name — to the age;

He placed the statue of the goddess Asherah in the temple, the place about which Yahweh had said to David and his son Solomon, “My temple will be here in Jerusalem. This is the city that I have chosen from all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel, where I want people to worship me, forever.

8 and I do not add to cause the foot of Israel to move from the ground that I gave to their fathers, only, if they observe to do according to all that I commanded them, and to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.'

And if the Israeli people obey all my commands and all the laws that I gave to Moses, the man who served me [very well], I will not again force them to leave this land that I gave to their ancestors.”

9 And they have not hearkened, and Manasseh causeth them to err, to do the evil thing above the nations that Jehovah destroyed from the presence of the sons of Israel.

But the people did not heed Yahweh. And Manasseh persuaded them to commit sins that are more evil than the sins that were committed by the people of the nations that Yahweh had expelled from the land as the Israeli people advanced.

10 And Jehovah speaketh by the hand of his servants the prophets, saying,

[These are some of the things that] the prophets said many times, messages that Yahweh had given them:

11 'Because that Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations — he hath done evil above all that the Amorites have done who [are] before him, and causeth also Judah to sin by his idols;

“Manasseh, the king of Judah, has done these abominable things, things that are much worse than the things that the Amor people-group did in this land long ago. He has persuaded the people of Judah to sin by [worshiping] idols.

12 therefore thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Lo, I am bringing in evil on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever heareth of it, tingle do his two ears.

Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh, the God whom you Israeli people worship, say: I will the cause the people of Jerusalem and the rest of Judah to experience great disasters. It will be terrible, with the result that everyone who hears about it will be stunned [MTY].

13 And I have stretched out over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and wiped Jerusalem as one wipeth the dish — he hath wiped, and hath turned [it] on its face.

I will judge and punish [MET] the people of Jerusalem like I punished the family of King Ahab [of Israel]. I will (wipe Jerusalem clean/remove all the people from Jerusalem), like [MET] people wipe a plate and then turn it upside down [after they have finished eating, to show that they are now satisfied].

14 'And I have left the remnant of Mine inheritance, and given them into the hand of their enemies, and they have been for a prey and for a spoil to all their enemies,

And I will abandon the people who remain alive, and I will allow their enemies to conquer them and steal everything valuable from their land.

15 because that they have done the evil thing in Mine eyes, and are provoking Me to anger from the day that their fathers came out of Egypt, even unto this day.'

I will do this because my people have done things that I consider to be very evil, things which have caused me to become very angry. They have caused me to become angry continually, ever since their ancestors left Egypt.”

16 And also, innocent blood hath Manasseh shed very much, till that he hath filled Jerusalem — mouth to mouth; apart from his sin that he hath caused Judah to sin, to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah.

Manasseh [commanded his officials to] kill many innocent people in Jerusalem, with the result that their blood flowed in the streets. He did this in addition to persuading the people of Judah to sin against Yahweh [by worshiping idols].

17 And the rest of the matters of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

[If you want to know more about] all the things that Manasseh did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

18 And Manasseh lieth with his fathers, and is buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and reign doth Amon his son in his stead.

Manasseh died [EUP] and was buried in the garden outside his palace, the garden that Uzza [had made]. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became the king.

19 A son of twenty and two years [is] Amon in his reigning, and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz of Jotbah,

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king. He ruled Judah from Jerusalem for [only] two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth. She was from Jotbah [town], and was the granddaughter of Haruz.

20 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father,

Amon did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, like his father Manasseh had done.

21 and walketh in all the way that his father walked in, and serveth the idols that his father served, and boweth himself to them,

He imitated the behavior of his father, and he worshiped the same idols that his father had worshiped [DOU].

22 and forsaketh Jehovah, God of his fathers, and hath not walked in the way of Jehovah.

He abandoned Yahweh, the God whom his ancestors [had worshiped], and did not behave as Yahweh wanted him to.

23 And the servants of Amon conspire against him, and put the king to death in his own house,

Then one day some of his officials plotted to kill him. They assassinated him in the palace.

24 and the people of the land smite all those conspiring against king Amon, and the people of the land cause Josiah his son to reign in his stead.

But then the people of Judah killed all those who had assassinated King Amon, and they appointed his son Josiah to be their king.

25 And the rest of the matters of Amon that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

[If you want to read about] [RHQ] the other things that Amon did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

26 and [one] burieth him in his burying-place in the garden of Uzza, and reign doth Josiah his son in his stead.

Amon was also buried in the tomb in the garden that Uzza [had made]. Then Amon’s son Josiah became the king.