Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

2 Kings 21
New English Translation

Manasseh’s Reign over Judah

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother[a] was Hephzibah. 2 He did evil in the sight of[b] the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations[c] whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky[d] and worshiped[e] them. 4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.”[f] 5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. 6 He passed his son[g] through the fire[h] and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it.[i] He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.[j] 7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord 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.[k] 8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors,[l] provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” 9 But they did not obey,[m] and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.

10 So the Lord announced through[n] his servants the prophets: 11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins.[o] He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols.[p] 12 So this is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it.[q] 13 I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab.[r] I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides.[s] 14 I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people[t] and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies,[u] 15 because they have done evil in my sight[v] and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”

16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end,[w] in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord.[x]

17 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[y] 18 Manasseh passed away[z] and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.

Amon’s Reign over Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. His mother[aa] was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 20 He did evil in the sight of[ab] the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He followed in the footsteps of his father[ac] and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols[ad] that his father had worshiped.[ae] 22 He abandoned the Lord, God of his ancestors, and did not follow the Lord’s instructions.[af] 23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they[ag] made his son Josiah king in his place.

25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[ah] 26 He was buried[ai] in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 21:1 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
  2. 2 Kings 21:2 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  3. 2 Kings 21:2 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
  4. 2 Kings 21:3 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:16.
  5. 2 Kings 21:3 tn Or “served.”
  6. 2 Kings 21:4 tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”
  7. 2 Kings 21:6 tc The LXX has the plural “his sons” here.
  8. 2 Kings 21:6 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.
  9. 2 Kings 21:6 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with conjurers.” The 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 בַעֲלַת אוֹב (baʿalat ʾov), “owner of a ritual pit.” See H. Hoffner, “Second millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew, ʾÔḆ” JBL 86 (1967), 385-401.
  10. 2 Kings 21:6 tc Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (“him”) has been accidentally omitted in the MT by haplography (note the vav that immediately follows).
  11. 2 Kings 21:7 tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”
  12. 2 Kings 21:8 tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”
  13. 2 Kings 21:9 tn Heb “listen.”
  14. 2 Kings 21:10 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
  15. 2 Kings 21:11 tn Heb “these horrible sins.”
  16. 2 Kings 21:11 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
  17. 2 Kings 21:12 tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”
  18. 2 Kings 21:13 tn Heb “I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab.” The measuring line and plumb line are normally used in building a structure, not tearing it down. But here they are used ironically as metaphors of judgment, emphasizing that he will give careful attention to the task of judgment.
  19. 2 Kings 21:13 tn Heb “just as one wipes a plate, wiping and turning [it] on its face.” The word picture emphasizes how thoroughly the Lord will judge the city.
  20. 2 Kings 21:14 tn Heb “the remnant of my inheritance.” In this context the Lord’s remnant is the tribe of Judah, which had been preserved when the Assyrians conquered and deported the northern tribes. See 17:18 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 269.
  21. 2 Kings 21:14 tn Heb “they will become plunder and spoils of war for all their enemies.”
  22. 2 Kings 21:15 tn Heb “in my eyes.”
  23. 2 Kings 21:16 tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”
  24. 2 Kings 21:16 tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
  25. 2 Kings 21:17 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin which he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  26. 2 Kings 21:18 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  27. 2 Kings 21:19 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
  28. 2 Kings 21:20 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  29. 2 Kings 21:21 tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”
  30. 2 Kings 21:21 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
  31. 2 Kings 21:21 tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”
  32. 2 Kings 21:22 tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the Lord.”
  33. 2 Kings 21:24 tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.
  34. 2 Kings 21:25 tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew mss have וְכָל (vekhol), “and all,” before אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher). In this case we can translate, “As for the rest of the events of Amon’s reign, and all his accomplishments,….”
  35. 2 Kings 21:26 tn Heb “he buried him.” Here “he” probably refers to Amon’s son Josiah.
Listen to 2 Kings 21
Close ESV

2 Kings 21
English Standard Version

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

21 (A)Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, (B)according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places (C)that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made (D)an Asherah, (E)as Ahab king of Israel had done, (F)and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 (G)And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, (H)“In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars (I)for all the host of heaven in (J)the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 (K)And he burned his son as an offering[a] and (L)used fortune-telling and (M)omens and dealt (N)with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of (O)Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, (P)and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 (Q)And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be 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 did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh's Idolatry Denounced

10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 (R)“Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things (S)more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, (T)and has made Judah also to sin (U)with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster[b] that the ears of everyone who hears of it (V)will tingle. 13 (W)And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is 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 the sin (Y)that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

17 (Z)Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and 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 (AA)And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, (AB)in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon Reigns in Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, (AC)as Manasseh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served (AD)the idols that his father served and worshiped them. 22 (AE)He abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. 24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that 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 (AF)in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 21:6 Hebrew made his son pass through the fire
  2. 2 Kings 21:12 Or evil
Close CUVMPS

列王纪下 21
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified)

玛拿西做犹大王其行唯恶

21 玛拿西登基的时候年十二岁，在耶路撒冷做王五十五年。他母亲名叫协西巴。 2 玛拿西行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，效法耶和华在以色列人面前赶出的外邦人所行可憎的事， 3 重新建筑他父希西家所毁坏的丘坛，又为巴力筑坛，做亚舍拉像，效法以色列王亚哈所行的，且敬拜侍奉天上的万象， 4 在耶和华殿宇中筑坛，耶和华曾指着这殿说：“我必立我的名在耶路撒冷。” 5 他在耶和华殿的两院中为天上的万象筑坛， 6 并使他的儿子经火，又观兆，用法术，立交鬼的和行巫术的，多行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，惹动他的怒气， 7 又在殿内立雕刻的亚舍拉像。耶和华曾对大卫和他儿子所罗门说：“我在以色列众支派中所选择的耶路撒冷和这殿，必立我的名直到永远。 8 以色列人若谨守遵行我一切所吩咐他们的和我仆人摩西所吩咐他们的一切律法，我就不再使他们挪移，离开我所赐给他们列祖之地。” 9 他们却不听从。玛拿西引诱他们行恶，比耶和华在以色列人面前所灭的列国更甚。

10 耶和华借他仆人众先知说： 11 “因犹大王玛拿西行这些可憎的恶事比先前亚摩利人所行的更甚，使犹大人拜他的偶像陷在罪里， 12 所以耶和华以色列的神如此说：我必降祸于耶路撒冷和犹大，叫一切听见的人无不耳鸣。 13 我必用量撒马利亚的准绳和亚哈家的线砣，拉在耶路撒冷上；必擦净耶路撒冷，如人擦盘将盘倒扣。 14 我必弃掉所余剩的子民[a]，把他们交在仇敌手中，使他们成为一切仇敌掳掠之物。 15 是因他们自从列祖出埃及直到如今，常行我眼中看为恶的事，惹动我的怒气。”

16 玛拿西行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，使犹大人陷在罪里，又流许多无辜人的血，充满了耶路撒冷，从这边直到那边。 17 玛拿西其余的事，凡他所行的和他所犯的罪，都写在《犹大列王记》上。 18 玛拿西与他列祖同睡，葬在自己宫院乌撒的园内。他儿子亚们接续他做王。

亚们做犹大王

19 亚们登基的时候年二十二岁，在耶路撒冷做王二年。他母亲名叫米舒利密，是约提巴人哈鲁斯的女儿。 20 亚们行耶和华眼中看为恶的事，与他父亲玛拿西所行的一样， 21 行他父亲一切所行的，敬奉他父亲所敬奉的偶像， 22 离弃耶和华他列祖的神，不遵行耶和华的道。 23 亚们王的臣仆背叛他，在宫里杀了他。 24 但国民杀了那些背叛亚们王的人，立他儿子约西亚接续他做王。 25 亚们其余所行的事都写在《犹大列王记》上。 26 亚们葬在乌撒的园内自己的坟墓里。他儿子约西亚接续他做王。

Footnotes

  1. 列王纪下 21:14 原文作：产业。
Next
2 Kings 20
2 Kings 22
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.

ESV Study Bible
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

Copyright © 2011 by Global Bible Initiative