Manasseh King of Judah^(A)

33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [^Levil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. He did the ·hateful [detestable; abominable] things the nations had done—the nations that the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the Israelites. ³ Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had torn down ·places where gods were worshiped [^Lthe high places; 11:15], but Manasseh rebuilt them. He also built altars for the Baal gods, and he made Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] and worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [powers/hosts of heaven] and ·served [worshiped] them. ⁴ The Lord had said about the ·Temple [^Lhouse], “·I will be worshiped [^LMy name will be] in Jerusalem forever,” but Manasseh built altars in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. ⁵ He built altars to worship the ·stars [^Lpowers/hosts of heaven] in the two courtyards of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. ⁶ He ·made his children pass through [sacrificed his children in the] fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He practiced magic and witchcraft and ·told the future by explaining signs and dreams [divination; augery]. He ·got advice from [dealt with] mediums and ·fortune-tellers [spiritualists; spiritists; Deut. 18:9–13]. He did ·many things the Lord said were wrong [^Lmuch evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes], which made the Lord angry.

⁷ Manasseh carved an idol and put it in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God. God had said to David and his son Solomon about the ·Temple [^Lhouse], “I will ·be worshiped [^Lput my name] forever in this ·Temple [^Lhouse] and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. ⁸ I will never again make the ·Israelites [^Lfeet of Israel] ·leave [wander from; ^Cinto exile] the land I ·gave to [appointed for] their ·ancestors [fathers]. But they must ·obey [be careful to do] everything I have commanded them in all the ·teachings [instructions; laws], ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and ·commands [judgments] I gave them through Moses.” ⁹ But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem ·to do wrong [astray]. They did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ·did not listen [paid no attention]. ¹¹ So the Lord brought the king of Assyria’s army commanders to attack Judah. They captured Manasseh, put hooks in him [^Cin his nose], ·placed bronze chains on his hands [bound him with bronze chains], and took him to Babylon. ¹² ·As Manasseh suffered [^LWhen he was in distress], he ·begged [entreated; ^Lsought] the Lord his God for help and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ·ancestors [fathers]. ¹³ When Manasseh prayed, the Lord heard ·him [^Lhis plea] and ·had pity on him [was moved]. So the Lord ·let him return [brought him back] to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is the true God.

¹⁴ After that happened, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David [^CJerusalem] and made it higher. It was in the valley on the west side of the Gihon spring and went to the entrance of the Fish Gate and around the hill of Ophel. Then he ·put [stationed] ·commanders [officers] in all the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities in Judah.

¹⁵ Manasseh removed the ·idols of other nations [foreign gods], including the idol in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. He removed all the altars he had built on the hill of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord and in Jerusalem and threw them out of the city. ¹⁶ Then he ·set up [restored] the Lord’s altar and ·sacrificed [offered] on it ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] and ·offerings to show thanks to God [thank/thanksgiving offerings]. Manasseh commanded all the people of Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ The people continued to offer sacrifices at the ·places of worship [^Lhigh places], but their sacrifices were only to the Lord their God. ¹⁸ The ·other things Manasseh did as king [rest of the events/acts/history of Manasseh], his prayer to his God, and what the ·seers [prophets] said to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel—all are recorded in the ·book [scroll] of the ·history [annals; records] of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ Manasseh’s prayer and ·God’s pity for him [how God responded to his plea/entreaty], his sins, his unfaithfulness, the ·places [sites on which] he built ·for worshiping gods [^Lhigh places; 11:15] and the Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] before he humbled himself—all are written in the ·book [scroll] of the ·seers [prophets]. ²⁰ Manasseh ·died [^Llay down/^Tslept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in his ·palace [^Lhouse]. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.

Amon King of Judah^(B)

²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] for two years in Jerusalem. ²² He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [^Levil in the Lord’s sight/eyes], as his father Manasseh had done. Amon ·worshiped [served] and ·offered [sacrificed] sacrifices to all the carved ·idols [images] Manasseh had made. ²³ Amon did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done. Instead, Amon ·sinned even more [^Lmultiplied guilt].

²⁴ King Amon’s ·officers [officials; servants] ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against him and killed him in his ·palace [^Lhouse]. ²⁵ Then the people of the land ·killed [executed] all those who had ·made plans [conspired; plotted] to kill King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.