Judah’s King Manasseh

1Manasseh was 12 years old a when he became king and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. 2He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites. b 3He rebuilt the ^•high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down c and reestablished the altars for the ^•Baals. He made ^•Asherah poles, and he worshiped the whole heavenly ^•host and served them. 4He built altars d in the LORD’s temple, where ^•Yahweh had said, “Jerusalem is where My name will remain forever.” e 5He built altars to the whole heavenly host in both courtyards f of the LORD’s temple. 6He passed his sons through the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. g He practiced witchcraft, ^•divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. h He did a great deal of evil in the LORD’s sight, provoking Him.

7Manasseh i set up a carved image of the idol he had made, in God’s temple, j about which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “I will establish My name forever k  l in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. m 8I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your n  o ancestors, p if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them through Moses — all the law, statutes, and judgments.” 9So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

Manasseh’s Repentance

10The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen. q 11So He brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. r 12When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahweh his God and earnestly humbled himself s before the God of his ancestors. 13He prayed to Him, so He heard his petition and granted his request, t and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God. u

14After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon v in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; w he brought it around the Ophel, x and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

15He removed the foreign gods and the idol y from the LORD’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the LORD’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. 16He built z the altar of the LORD and offered ^•fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. 17However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, aa but only to Yahweh their God.

Manasseh’s Death

18The rest of the events ab of Manasseh’s reign, along with his prayer ac to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, are written in the Records of Israel’s Kings. 19His prayer and how God granted his request, and all his sin and unfaithfulness and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and carved images before he humbled himself, they are written in the Records of Hozai. 20Manasseh rested with his fathers, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

21Amon was 22 years old when he became king and reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight just as his father Manasseh had done. ad Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. 23But he did not humble himself before the LORD like his father Manasseh humbled himself; ae instead, Amon increased his ^•guilt.

24So his servants conspired against him and put him to death af in his own house. 25Then the common people ag executed all those who conspired against King Amon and made his son Josiah king in his place.