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2 Chronicles 33
Common English Bible

Manasseh rules

33 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king, and he ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the shrines that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, set up altars for the Baals, and made sacred poles.[a] He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshipped them. 4 He even built altars in the Lord’s temple, the very place the Lord was speaking about when he said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 Manasseh built altars for all the stars in the sky in both courtyards of the Lord’s temple. 6 He burned his own sons alive in the Ben-hinnom Valley, consulted sign readers, fortune-tellers, and sorcerers, and used mediums and diviners. He did much evil in the Lord’s eyes and made him angry.

7 Manasseh set up the carved image he had made in God’s temple, the very temple God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon, saying: In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have selected out of all Israel’s tribes, I will put my name forever. 8 I will never again remove Israel from the fertile land I gave to your ancestors, provided they carefully do everything I have commanded them—keeping all the Instruction, the regulations, and the case laws given through Moses. 9 In this way Manasseh led Judah and the residents of Jerusalem into doing even more evil than the nations that the Lord had wiped out before the Israelites.

10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they wouldn’t listen. 11 So the Lord brought the army commanders of Assyria’s king against them. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 During his distress, Manasseh made peace with the Lord his God, truly submitting himself to the God of his ancestors. 13 He prayed, and God was moved by his request. God listened to Manasseh’s prayer and restored him to his rule in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God.

14 After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of David’s City, west of the Gihon Spring in the valley, extending as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate, enclosing the elevated fortress[b] and greatly increasing its height. He also installed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord’s temple, as well as all the altars he had built on the hill of the Lord’s temple and in Jerusalem, dumping them outside the city. 16 He restored the Lord’s altar, offered well-being sacrifices and thank offerings on it, and ordered the people of Judah to worship the Lord, Israel’s God. 17 The people, however, still sacrificed at the shrines, but only to the Lord their God. 18 The rest of Manasseh’s deeds, including his prayer to God and what the seers told him in the name of the Lord, Israel’s God, are found in the records of Israel’s kings. 19 Manasseh’s prayer and its answer, all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the locations of the shrines, sacred poles,[c] and idols he set up before he submitted are written in the records of Hozai.[d] 20 Manasseh lay down with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. His son Amon succeeded him as king.

Amon rules

21 Amon was 22 years old when he became king, and he ruled for two years in Jerusalem. 22 He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, just as his father Manasseh had done. He sacrificed to all the idols his father had made and worshipped them. 23 But unlike his father Manasseh, Amon didn’t submit before the Lord; instead, Amon increased his guilt. 24 His own officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. 25 The people of the land then executed all those who had plotted against King Amon and made his son Josiah the next king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 33:3 Heb asherot, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
  2. 2 Chronicles 33:14 Or hillside; Heb uncertain
  3. 2 Chronicles 33:19 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
  4. 2 Chronicles 33:19 LXX the seers
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2 Chronicles 33
New English Translation

Manasseh’s Reign

33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 He did evil in the sight of[a] the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations[b] whom the Lord drove out ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky[c] and worshiped[d] them. 4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my permanent home.”[e] 5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. 6 He passed his sons through the fire[f] in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and practiced divination, omen reading, and sorcery. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it.[g] He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord and angered him.[h] 7 He put an idolatrous image he had made in God’s temple, about which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.[i] 8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors,[j] provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law, the rules and regulations given through Moses.” 9 But Manasseh misled the people of[k] Judah and the residents of Jerusalem so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

10 The Lord confronted[l] Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria. They seized Manasseh, put hooks in his nose,[m] bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon. 12 In his pain[n] Manasseh[o] asked the Lord his God for mercy[p] and truly[q] humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.[r] 13 When he prayed to the Lord,[s] the Lord[t] responded to him[u] and answered favorably[v] his cry for mercy. The Lord[w] brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh realized that the Lord is the true God.

14 After this Manasseh[x] built up the outer wall of the City of David[y] on the west side of the Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate and all around the terrace; he made it much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities in Judah.

15 He removed the foreign gods and images from the Lord’s temple and all the altars he had built on the hill of the Lord’s temple and in Jerusalem; he threw them outside the city. 16 He erected the altar of the Lord and offered on it peace offerings and thank offerings. He told the people of[z] Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 17 However, the people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the prophets[aa] spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are recorded[ab] in the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 19 The Annals of the Prophets include his prayer, give an account of how the Lord responded to it, record all his sins and unfaithful acts, and identify the sites where he built high places and erected Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself.[ac] 20 Manasseh passed away[ad] and was buried in his palace. His son Amon replaced him as king.

Amon’s Reign

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. 22 He did evil in the sight of[ae] the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon offered sacrifices to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and worshiped[af] them. 23 He did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done.[ag] Amon was guilty of great sin.[ah] 24 His servants conspired against him and killed him in his palace. 25 The people of the land executed all who had conspired against King Amon, and they[ai] made his son Josiah king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 33:2 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 33:2 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 33:3 tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הֲַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsevaʾ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.
  4. 2 Chronicles 33:3 tn Or “served.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 33:4 tn Heb “In Jerusalem my name will be permanently.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 33:6 tn Or “he sacrificed his sons in the fire.” This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB, NASB “made his sons pass through the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
  7. 2 Chronicles 33:6 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with a conjurer.” Hebrew אוֹב (ʾov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַּעֲלַת אוֹב (baʿalat ʾov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ʾÔḆ,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.
  8. 2 Chronicles 33:6 tn Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 33:7 tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name permanently” (or perhaps “forever”).
  10. 2 Chronicles 33:8 tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I established for their fathers.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 33:9 tn Heb “misled Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” here by metonymy for the people of Judah.
  12. 2 Chronicles 33:10 tn Heb “spoke to.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 33:11 tn Heb “and they seized him with hooks.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 33:12 tn Or “distress.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 33:12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. 2 Chronicles 33:12 tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord his God.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 33:12 tn Or “greatly.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 33:12 tn Heb “fathers.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 33:13 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. 2 Chronicles 33:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  21. 2 Chronicles 33:13 tn Heb “was entreated by him,” or “allowed himself to be entreated by him.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 33:13 tn Heb “heard.”
  23. 2 Chronicles 33:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  24. 2 Chronicles 33:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. 2 Chronicles 33:14 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  26. 2 Chronicles 33:16 tn Heb “told Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” here by metonymy for the people of Judah.
  27. 2 Chronicles 33:18 tn Or “seers.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 33:18 tn Heb “look, they are.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 33:19 tn Heb “and his prayer and being entreated by him, and all his sin and his unfaithfulness and the places where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself—behold, they are written on the words of his seers.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 33:20 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 33:22 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 33:22 tn Or “served.”
  33. 2 Chronicles 33:23 tn Heb “as Manasseh his father had humbled himself.”
  34. 2 Chronicles 33:23 tn Heb “for he, Amon, multiplied guilt.”
  35. 2 Chronicles 33:25 tn Heb “and the people of the land.”
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2 Chronicles 33
King James Version

33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:

2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

4 Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.

9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

10 And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.

11 Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.

14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.

15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.

16 And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.

17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.

19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.

20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

21 Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.

22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;

23 And humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

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