2 Chronicles 33

Chapter 33

Manasseh Rules in Judah

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.2 He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.

3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.”5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD’s Temple.

6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the firet in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD’s sight, arousing his anger.
7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God’s Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses—I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors.”

9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings.11 So the LORD sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

13 And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God!
14 After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate, and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah.15 Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD’s Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city.16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.

17 However, the people still sacrificed at the pagan shrines, though only to the LORD their God.
18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel.19 Manasseh’s prayer, the account of the way God answered him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The Record of the Seers.t It includes a list of the locations where he built pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and repented.

20 When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon became the next king.

Amon Rules in Judah

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years.22 He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. He worshiped and sacrificed to all the idols his father had made.

23 But unlike his father, he did not humble himself before the LORD. Instead, Amon sinned even more.
24 Then Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace.

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

2 CHRONICLES 33

King Manasseh of Judah

(2 Kings 21.1-9,17, 18)

1 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 55 years from Jerusalem. 2 t Manasseh disobeyed the [Lord] by following the disgusting customs of the nations that the [Lord] had forced out of Israel.

3 He rebuilt the local shrinest that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He built altars for the god Baal and set up sacred polest for worshiping the goddess Asherah. And he continued to worship the stars.
4 In the temple, where only the [Lord] was supposed to be worshiped, Manasseh built altars for the worship of pagan gods 5 and the stars. He placed these altars in both courtyards of the temple

6-7 t and even set up a stone image of a foreign god. Manasseh practiced magic and witchcraft; he asked fortunetellers for advice and sacrificed his own sons in Hinnom Valley. He did many other sinful things and made the [Lord] very angry.
Years ago, God had told David and Solomon:
Jerusalem is the place I prefer above all others in Israel. It belongs to me, and there in the temple I will be worshiped forever.

8 If my people will faithfully obey all the laws and teaching I gave to my servant Moses, I will never again force them to leave the land I gave to their ancestors.

9 But the people of Judah and Jerusalem listened to Manasseh and did even more sinful things than the nations the [Lord] had wiped out.
10 The [Lord] tried to warn Manasseh and the people about their sins, but they ignored the warning. 11 So he let Assyrian army commanders invade Judah and capture Manasseh. They put a hook in his nose and tied him up in chains, and they took him to Babylon. 12 While Manasseh was held captive there, he asked the [Lord] God to forgive him and to help him.

13 The [Lord] listened to Manasseh's prayer and saw how sorry he was, and so he let him go back to Jerusalem and rule as king. Manasseh knew from then on that the [Lord] was God.

14 Later, Manasseh rebuilt the eastern section of Jerusalem's outer wall and made it taller. This section went from Gihon Valley north to Fish Gate and around the part of the city called Mount Ophel. He also assigned army officers to each of the fortified cities in Judah.t
15 Manasseh also removed the idols and the stone image of the foreign god from the temple, and he gathered the altars he had built near the temple and in other parts of Jerusalem. He threw all these things outside the city. 16 Then he repaired the [Lord]'s altar and offered sacrifices to thank him and sacrifices to ask his blessing.t He gave orders that everyone in Judah must worship the [Lord] God of Israel.

17 The people obeyed Manasseh, but they worshiped the [Lord] at their own shrines.
18 Everything else Manasseh did while he was king, including his prayer to the [Lord] God and the warnings from his prophets, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 19 Hozait wrote a lot about Manasseh, including his prayer and God's answer. But Hozai also recorded the evil things Manasseh did before turning back to God, as well as a list of places where Manasseh set up idols, and where he built local shrines and places to worship Asherah.

20 Manasseh died and was buried near the palace, and his son Amon became king.

King Amon of Judah

(2 Kings 21.19-26)

23 Manasseh had turned back to the [Lord], but Amon refused to do that. Instead, he sinned even more than his father.
24 Some of Amon's officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. 25 But the people of Judah killed the murderers of Amon and made his son Josiah king.