II Kings 21

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king; for fifty-five years he was ruling in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hephzi-bah.

²He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, copying the disgusting ways of those nations whom the Lord had sent out before the children of Israel.

³He put up again the high places which had been pulled down by Hezekiah his father; he made altars for Baal, and an Asherah, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done; he was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven.

⁴And he put up altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.

⁵And he put up altars for all the stars of heaven in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord.

⁶And he made his son go through the fire, and made use of secret arts and signs for reading the future; he gave positions to those who had control of spirits and to wonder-workers; he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, moving him to wrath.

⁷He put the image of Asherah which 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, the town which I have made mine out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever.

⁸And never again will I send the feet of Israel wandering from the land which I gave to their fathers; if only they will take care to do all my orders, and keep all the law which my servant Moses gave them.

⁹But they did not give ear; and Manasseh made them do more evil than those nations did, whom the Lord gave up to destruction before the children of Israel.

¹⁰And the Lord said, by his servants the prophets,

¹¹Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has done these disgusting things, doing more evil than all the Amorites before him, and making Judah do evil with his false gods,

¹²For this cause, says the Lord, the God of Israel, I will send such evil on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of all to whom the news comes will be burning.

¹³And over Jerusalem will be stretched the line of Samaria and the weight of Ahab; Jerusalem will be washed clean as a plate is washed, and turned over on its face.

¹⁴And I will put away from me the rest of my heritage, and give them up into the hands of their haters, who will take their property and their goods for themselves;

¹⁵Because they have done evil in my eyes, moving me to wrath, from the day when their fathers came out of Egypt till this day.

¹⁶More than this, Manasseh took the lives of upright men, till Jerusalem from one end to the other was full of blood; in addition to his sin in making Judah do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

¹⁷Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all he did, and his sins, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?

¹⁸So Manasseh went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza; and Amon his son became king in his place.

¹⁹Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, ruling in Jerusalem for two years; his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

²⁰He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done.

²¹He went in all the ways of his father, being a servant and worshipper of the false gods to which his father had been a servant;

²²Turning away from the Lord, the God of his fathers, and not walking in his ways.

²³And the servants of Amon made a secret design against him, and put the king to death in his house.

²⁴But the people of the land put to death all those who had taken part in the design against the king, and made Josiah his son king in his place.

²⁵Now the rest of the acts which Amon did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?

²⁶He was put in his last resting-place in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place.

II Kings 21

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hephzibah.

²He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the nations whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

³For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.

⁴He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, "I will put my name in Jerusalem."

⁵He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

⁶He made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

⁷He set the engraved image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which the Lord 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, will I put my name forever;

⁸neither will I cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them."

⁹But they did not listen: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than the nations did whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel.

¹⁰The Lord spoke by his servants the prophets, saying,

¹¹"Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols;

¹²therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle.

¹³I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

¹⁴I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies. They will become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

¹⁵because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day.'"

¹⁶Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁷Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

¹⁸Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his place.

¹⁹Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

²⁰He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father did.

²¹He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them:

²²and he forsook the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

²³The servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.

²⁴But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

²⁵Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁶He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his place.