2 Kings 21
New American Standard Bible
Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah
21 (A)Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 (B)He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (C)in accordance with the abominations of the nations whom the Lord [a]dispossessed before the sons of Israel. 3 For (D)he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had destroyed; and (E)he erected altars for Baal and made an [b]Asherah, just as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he (F)worshiped all the heavenly [c]lights and served them. 4 And (G)he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “(H)In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 He built altars for (I)all the heavenly [d]lights in (J)the two courtyards of the house of the Lord. 6 And (K)he made his son pass through the fire, (L)interpreted signs, practiced divination, and used mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger. 7 Then (M)he put the carved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “(N)In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. 8 And I (O)will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will take care to act in accordance with everything that I have commanded them, and with all the Law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh (P)encouraged them to do evil, more than the nations whom the Lord eliminated from the presence of the sons of Israel.
The King’s Idolatries Rebuked
10 Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, 11 “(Q)Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations, (R)having done more evil than all that the Amorites did who were before him, and (S)has also misled Judah into sin (T)with his idols, 12 therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears about it, (U)both of his ears will ring. 13 (V)I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes a bowl, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoils to all their enemies, 15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.’”
16 (W)Furthermore, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem [e]from one end to another, besides his sin (X)into which he misled Judah, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 17 (Y)Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and his sin which he [f]committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 (Z)And Manasseh [g]lay down with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, (AA)in the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon became king in his place.
Amon Succeeds Manasseh
19 (AB)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (AC)just as his father Manasseh had done. 21 For he walked [h]entirely in the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. 22 So (AD)he abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 And (AE)the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house. 24 Then (AF)the people of the land [i]killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and 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 He was buried in his grave (AG)in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 21:2 Or drove out
- 2 Kings 21:3 I.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity
- 2 Kings 21:3 Lit host
- 2 Kings 21:5 Lit host
- 2 Kings 21:16 Lit mouth to mouth
- 2 Kings 21:17 Lit sinned
- 2 Kings 21:18 I.e., died
- 2 Kings 21:21 Lit in all the way that
- 2 Kings 21:24 Lit struck
2 Kings 21
New Living Translation
Manasseh Rules in Judah
21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. 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 destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. 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 son in the fire.[a] He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
7 Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the Lord 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 my servant Moses gave them—I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors.” 9 But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.
10 Then the Lord said through his servants the prophets: 11 “King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols.[b] 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror. 13 I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measure[c] I used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. 14 Then I will reject even the remnant of my own people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies. 15 For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt.”
16 Manasseh also murdered many innocent people until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he caused the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in the Lord’s sight.
17 The rest of the events in Manasseh’s reign and everything he did, including the sins he committed, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 18 When Manasseh died, he was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon became the next king.
Amon Rules in Judah
19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. 20 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. 21 He followed the example of his father, worshiping the same idols his father had worshiped. 22 He abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and he refused to follow the Lord’s ways.
23 Then Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 24 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king.
25 The rest of the events in Amon’s reign and what he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Josiah became the next king.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
