2 Kings 21

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Hephzibah.2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.4 He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem I will put My name.5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.6 Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.7 He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord had 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 and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathersonly if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.9 But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.10 And the Lord spoke by His servants the prophets, saying,11 Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations ( he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols),12 therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.14 So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies,15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.16 Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.17 Now the rest of the acts of Manassehall that he did, and the sin that he committed are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?18 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Amons Reign and Death

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.20 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done.21 So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them.22 He forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.23 Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house.24 But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.

2 KINGS 21

King Manasseh of Judah

(2 Chronicles 33.1-20)

1 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 55 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah. 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 shrines that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He built altars for the god Baal and set up a sacred pole for worshiping the goddess Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. And he faithfully worshiped the stars in heaven.
4  t 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 courts of the temple,

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

8 If my people will faithfully obey all the commands in the Law of my servant Moses, I will never make them leave the land I gave to their ancestors.

9 But the people of Judah disobeyed the [Lord]. They listened to Manasseh and did even more sinful things than the nations the [Lord] had wiped out.

10 One day the [Lord] said to some of his prophets:
11 King Manasseh has done more disgusting things than the Amorites, t and he has led my people to sin by forcing them to worship his idols. 12 Now I, the [Lord] God of Israel, will destroy both Jerusalem and Judah! People will hear about it but won't believe it.

13 Jerusalem is as sinful as Ahab and the people of Samaria were. So I will wipe out Jerusalem and be done with it, just as someone wipes water off a plate and turns it over to dry.
14 I will even get rid of my people who survive. They will be defeated and robbed by their enemies.

15 My people have done what I hate and have not stopped making me angry since their ancestors left Egypt.

16 Manasseh was guilty of causing the people of Judah to sin and disobey the [Lord]. He also refused to protect innocent people—he even let so many of them be killedt that their blood filled the streets of Jerusalem.
17 Everything else Manasseh did while he was king, including his terrible sins, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.

18 He died and was buried in Uzza Garden near his palace, and his son Amon became king.

King Amon of Judah

(2 Chronicles 33.21-25)

22 refused to be faithful to the [Lord], the God his ancestors had worshiped.
23 Some of Amon's officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace.

24-26 He was buried in Uzza Garden. Soon after that, the people of Judah killed the murderers of Amon, then they made his son Josiah king.
Everything else Amon did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.