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2 Kings 21
New International Version

Manasseh King of Judah(A)(B)

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.(C) 2 He did evil(D) in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices(E) of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places(F) his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal(G) and made an Asherah pole,(H) as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts(I) and worshiped them. 4 He built altars(J) in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.”(K) 5 In the two courts(L) of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his own son(M) in the fire, practiced divination,(N) sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists.(O) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing(P) his anger.

7 He took the carved Asherah pole(Q) he had made and put it in the temple,(R) of which the Lord 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(S) forever. 8 I will not again(T) make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses(U) gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil(V) than the nations(W) the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets: 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil(X) than the Amorites(Y) who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols.(Z) 12 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster(AA) on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.(AB) 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line(AC) used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe(AD) out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 I will forsake(AE) the remnant(AF) of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; 15 they have done evil(AG) in my eyes and have aroused(AH) my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.”

16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood(AI) that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah(AJ) to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

17 As for the other events of Manasseh’s reign, and all he did, including the sin he committed, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 18 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace garden,(AK) the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah(AL)

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did evil(AM) in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them. 22 He forsook(AN) the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk(AO) in obedience to him.

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

25 As for the other events of Amon’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden(AS) of Uzza. And Josiah his son succeeded him as king.

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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.
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2 Kings 21
New King James Version

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.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 21:3 Places for pagan worship
  2. 2 Kings 21:3 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
  3. 2 Kings 21:3 The gods of the Assyrians
  4. 2 Kings 21:7 A Canaanite goddess
  5. 2 Kings 21:7 Temple
  6. 2 Kings 21:18 Died and joined his ancestors
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