Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.

and he said, “Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

Furthermore, he burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel.

Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand?

Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand?

Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’”

He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.”

And many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter he rose in the sight of all nations.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

So Manasseh encouraged Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.