Manasseh Reigns in Judah^(A)

21 Manasseh ^(B)was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. ² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(C)according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the ^[a]high places ^(D)which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a ^[b]wooden image, ^(E)as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he ^(F)worshiped all ^[c]the host of heaven and served them. ^4 (G)He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(H)“In Jerusalem I will put My name.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the ^(I)two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (J)Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced ^(K)soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ⁷ He even set a carved image of ^[d]Asherah that he had made, in the ^[e]house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son, ^(L)“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; ^8 (M)and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” ⁹ But they paid no attention, and Manasseh ^(N)seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke ^(O)by His servants the prophets, saying, ^11 (P)“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (^(Q)he has acted more wickedly than all the ^(R)Amorites who were before him, and ^(S)has also made Judah sin with his idols), ¹² therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both ^(T)his ears will tingle. ¹³ And I will stretch over Jerusalem ^(U)the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; ^(V)I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. ¹⁴ So I will forsake the ^(W)remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ ”

^16 (X)Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁷ Now ^(Y)the rest of the acts of ^(Z)Manasseh—all that he did, and the sin that he committed—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ¹⁸ So ^(AA)Manasseh ^[f]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death^(AB)

^19 (AC)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(AD)as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. ²² He ^(AE)forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

^23 (AF)Then the servants of Amon ^(AG)conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. ²⁴ But the people of the land ^(AH)executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then 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 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Vision of the Locusts

7 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the ^[a]beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. ² And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said:

Vision of the Fire

⁴ Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called ^[c]for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the ^[d]territory. ⁵ Then I said:

Vision of the Plumb Line

⁷ Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said:

Amaziah’s Complaint

¹⁰ Then Amaziah the ^(H)priest of ^(I)Bethel sent to ^(J)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to ^[g]bear all his words. ¹¹ For thus Amos has said:

¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos:

¹⁴ Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:

¹⁷ “Therefore^(R) thus says the Lord:

Shepherd the Flock

5 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a ^(A)witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the ^(B)glory that will be revealed: ^2 (C)Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, ^(D)not by compulsion but ^[a]willingly, ^(E)not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³ nor as ^(F)being ^[b]lords over ^(G)those entrusted to you, but ^(H)being examples to the flock; ⁴ and when ^(I)the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive ^(J)the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Submit to God, Resist the Devil

⁵ Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, ^(K)all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

⁸ Be ^[c]sober, be ^[d]vigilant; ^[e]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But ^[f]may the God of all grace, ^(N)who called ^[g]us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, ^[h]perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ^11 (O)To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Farewell and Peace

¹² By ^(P)Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying ^(Q)that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

¹³ She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does ^(R)Mark my son. ¹⁴ Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

ר RESH