True Worship and False

66 Thus says the Lord:

The Lord Vindicates Zion

¹² For thus says the Lord:

The Reign and Indignation of God

¹⁸ “For I know their works and their ^(S)thoughts. It shall be that I will ^(T)gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. ^19 (U)I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and ^[c]Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. ^(V)And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. ²⁰ Then they shall ^(W)bring all your brethren ^(X)for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. ²¹ And I will also take some of them for ^(Y)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

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.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah^(A)

33 Manasseh ^(B)was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the ^(C)abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the ^[a]high places which Hezekiah his father had ^(D)broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and ^(E)made wooden images; and he worshiped ^(F)all ^[b]the host of heaven and served them. ⁴ He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(G)“In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven ^(H)in the two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (I)Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced ^(J)soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and ^(K)consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ^7 (L)He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the ^[c]house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, ^(M)“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; ^8 (N)and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” ⁹ So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

Manasseh Restored After Repentance

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not ^[d]listen. ^11 (O)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with ^[e]hooks, ^(P)bound him with ^[f]bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. ¹² Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and ^(Q)humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, ¹³ and prayed to Him; and He ^(R)received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh ^(S)knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴ After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of ^(T)Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it ^(U)enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He took away ^(V)the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. ¹⁶ He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and ^(W)thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ^17 (X)Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the ^[g]high places, but only to the Lord their God.

Death of Manasseh^(Y)

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(Z)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the ^[h]book of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built ^[i]high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of ^[j]Hozai. ^20 (AA)So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death^(AB)

^21 (AC)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. ²³ And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^(AD)as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

^24 (AE)Then his servants conspired against him, and ^(AF)killed him in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,

² To Timothy, a ^(A)true son in the faith:

^(B)Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

No Other Doctrine

³ As I urged you ^(C)when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may ^[a]charge some ^(D)that they teach no other doctrine, ^4 (E)nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. ⁵ Now ^(F)the purpose of the commandment is love ^(G)from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from ^[b]sincere faith, ⁶ from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to ^(H)idle talk, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

⁸ But we know that the law is ^(I)good if one uses it lawfully, ⁹ knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, ¹⁰ for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is ^[c]contrary to sound doctrine, ¹¹ according to the glorious gospel of the ^(J)blessed God which was ^(K)committed to my trust.

Glory to God for His Grace^(L)

¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has ^(M)enabled me, ^(N)because He counted me faithful, ^(O)putting me into the ministry, ¹³ although ^(P)I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an ^[d]insolent man; but I obtained mercy because ^(Q)I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ^14 (R)And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, ^(S)with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ^15 (T)This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that ^(U)Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. ¹⁷ Now to ^(V)the King eternal, ^(W)immortal, ^(X)invisible, to ^[e]God ^(Y)who alone is wise, ^(Z)be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Fight the Good Fight

¹⁸ This ^[f]charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, ²⁰ of whom are ^(AA)Hymenaeus and ^(AB)Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to ^(AC)blaspheme.

A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God

To the Chief Musician. To ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.