2 Chronicles 33:10-16

New International Reader's Version

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people. But they didn’t pay any attention to him. ¹¹ So the Lord brought the army commanders of the king of Assyria against them. They took Manasseh as a prisoner. They put a hook in his nose. They put him in bronze chains. And they took him to Babylon. ¹² When Manasseh was in trouble, he asked the Lord his God to help him. He made himself very humble in the sight of the God of his people. ¹³ Manasseh prayed to him. When he did, the Lord felt sorry for him. He answered his prayer. The Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

¹⁴ After that, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David. It was west of the Gihon spring in the valley. It reached all the way to the entrance of the Fish Gate. It went around the entire hill of Ophel. Manasseh also made the wall much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the cities in Judah that had high walls around them.

¹⁵ Manasseh got rid of the false gods. He removed the statue of one of those gods from the Lord’s temple. He also removed all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem. He threw them out of the city. ¹⁶ Then he made the Lord’s altar look like new again. He sacrificed friendship offerings and thank offerings on it. He told the people of Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.