Judah’s King Manasseh

33 Manasseh was 12 years old^(A) when he became king and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. ² He 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) 3} He 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. ⁴ He built altars^(D) in the Lord’s temple, where Yahweh had said, “Jerusalem is where My name will remain forever.”^{(E) 5} He built altars to the whole heavenly host in both courtyards^(F) of the Lord’s temple. ⁶ He 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.

⁷ Manasseh^(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^[a](K) in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.^{(L) 8} I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your^[b](M) ancestors,^(N) if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them through Moses—all the law, statutes, and judgments.” ⁹ So 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

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen.^{(O) 11} So 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.^{(P) 12} When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahweh his God and earnestly humbled himself^(Q) before the God of his ancestors. ¹³ He prayed to Him, so He heard his petition and granted his request,^(R) and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God.^(S)

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

¹⁵ He removed the foreign gods and the idol^(W) 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. ¹⁶ He built^[c] the altar of the Lord and offered fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ However, the people still sacrificed at the high places,^(X) but only to Yahweh their God.

Manasseh’s Death

¹⁸ The rest of the events^(Y) of Manasseh’s reign, along with his prayer^(Z) 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. ¹⁹ His 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. ²⁰ Manasseh rested with his fathers, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

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

²⁴ So his servants conspired against him and put him to death^(AC) in his own house. ²⁵ Then the common people^[d] executed all those who conspired against King Amon and made his son Josiah king in his place.

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

36 Then^(A) the common people^[a] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

² Jehoahaz^[b] was 23 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land 7,500 pounds^[c] of silver and 75 pounds^[d] of gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

⁴ Then Neco king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz^[e] and brought him to Egypt.^(B)

⁵ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.^{(C) 6} Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him^(D) and bound him in bronze^(E) shackles to take him to Babylon.^{(F) 7} Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the utensils of the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon.^(G)

⁸ The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim,^(H) the detestable things he did, and what was found against him, are written in the Book of Israel’s Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

Judah’s King Jehoiachin

⁹ Jehoiachin was 18^[f] years old^(I) when he became king and reigned three months and 10 days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹⁰ In the spring^[g](J) Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable utensils of the Lord’s temple. Then he made Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.^(K)

Judah’s King Zedekiah

¹¹ Zedekiah was 21 years old^(L) when he became king and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself^(M) before Jeremiah the prophet at the Lord’s command.^{(N) 13} He also rebelled against^(O) King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate^[h](P) and hardened his heart against returning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the Lord’s temple that He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

¹⁵ But Yahweh, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of His messengers, sending them time and time again,^(Q) for He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers,^(R) despising His words,^(S) and scoffing at His prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against His people that there was no remedy.^{(T) 17} So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans,^(U) who killed their choice young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; He handed them all over to him. ¹⁸ He took everything to Babylon—all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple.^(V) They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.

²⁰ He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian^[i] kingdom.^{(W) 21} This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Jeremiah^(X) and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation^(Y) until 70 years were fulfilled.

The Decree of Cyrus

²² In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,^(Z) the word of the Lord spoken through^[j] Jeremiah^(AA) was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus^(AB) of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing: