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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
Contemporary English Version

King Manasseh of Judah

(2 Kings 21.1-9,17,18)

33 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 55 years from Jerusalem. 2 (A) Manasseh disobeyed the Lord by following the disgusting customs of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. 3 He rebuilt the local shrines[a] that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He built altars for the god Baal and set up sacred poles[b] for worshiping the goddess Asherah. And he continued to worship the stars.

4 In the temple, where only the Lord was supposed to be worshiped, Manasseh built altars for the worship of pagan gods 5 and the stars. He placed these altars in both courtyards of the temple 6-7 (B) and even set up a stone image of a foreign god. Manasseh practiced magic and witchcraft; he asked fortunetellers for advice and sacrificed his own sons in Hinnom Valley. He did many other sinful things and made the Lord very angry.

Years ago, God had told David and Solomon:

Jerusalem is the place I prefer above all others in Israel. It belongs to me, and there in the temple I will be worshiped forever. 8 If my people will faithfully obey all the laws and teaching I gave to my servant Moses, I will never again force them to leave the land I gave to their ancestors.

9 But the people of Judah and Jerusalem listened to Manasseh and did even more sinful things than the nations the Lord had wiped out.

10 The Lord tried to warn Manasseh and the people about their sins, but they ignored the warning. 11 So he let Assyrian army commanders invade Judah and capture Manasseh. They put a hook in his nose and tied him up in chains, and they took him to Babylon. 12 While Manasseh was held captive there, he asked the Lord God to forgive him and to help him. 13 The Lord listened to Manasseh's prayer and saw how sorry he was, and so he let him go back to Jerusalem and rule as king. Manasseh knew from then on that the Lord was God.

14 Later, Manasseh rebuilt the eastern section of Jerusalem's outer wall and made it taller. This section went from Gihon Valley north to Fish Gate and around the part of the city called Mount Ophel. He also assigned army officers to each of the fortified cities in Judah.[c]

15 Manasseh also removed the idols and the stone image of the foreign god from the temple, and he gathered the altars he had built near the temple and in other parts of Jerusalem. He threw all these things outside the city. 16 Then he repaired the Lord's altar and offered sacrifices to thank him and sacrifices to ask his blessing.[d] He gave orders that everyone in Judah must worship the Lord God of Israel. 17 The people obeyed Manasseh, but they worshiped the Lord at their own shrines.

18 Everything else Manasseh did while he was king, including his prayer to the Lord God and the warnings from his prophets, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 19 Hozai[e] wrote a lot about Manasseh, including his prayer and God's answer. But Hozai also recorded the evil things Manasseh did before turning back to God, as well as a list of places where Manasseh set up idols, and where he built local shrines and places to worship Asherah. 20 Manasseh died and was buried near the palace, and his son Amon became king.

King Amon of Judah

(2 Kings 21.19-26)

21 Amon was 22 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 2 years. 22 Amon disobeyed the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done, and he worshiped and offered sacrifices to the idols his father had made. 23 Manasseh had turned back to the Lord, but Amon refused to do that. Instead, he sinned even more than his father.

24 Some of Amon's officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. 25 But the people of Judah killed the murderers of Amon and made his son Josiah king.

Footnotes

  1. 33.3 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
  2. 33.3 sacred poles: See the note at 14.3.
  3. 33.14 fortified cities in Judah: At this time, Judah was under the control of Assyria. The fortifications mentioned in this verse may have been done under orders from Assyrian officials, hoping to strengthen their southern border against the rising power of Egypt.
  4. 33.16 sacrifices to ask his blessing: See the note at 29.33.
  5. 33.19 Hozai: Or “The prophets.”
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2 Chronicles 33
New International Version

Manasseh King of Judah(A)(B)

33 Manasseh(C) was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(D) following the detestable(E) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles.(F) He bowed down(G) to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name(H) will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 In both courts of the temple of the Lord,(I) he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his children(J) in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums(K) and spiritists.(L) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

7 He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple,(M) of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land(N) I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.” 9 But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.(O)

10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner,(P) put a hook(Q) in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles(R) and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled(S) himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

14 Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon(T) spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate(U) and encircling the hill of Ophel;(V) he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed(W) the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings(X) on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

18 The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel.[a] 19 His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled(Y) himself—all these are written in the records of the seers.[b](Z) 20 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried(AA) in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah(AB)

21 Amon(AC) was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. 23 But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble(AD) himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.

24 Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 25 Then the people(AE) of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 33:18 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles
  2. 2 Chronicles 33:19 One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts of Hozai
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