2 Kings
Chapter 21
1 Manasseh was twelve when he started to rule, and he ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hephzibah.
2 He did evil things that God hated, imitating the wicked practices of the nations that God had thrown out before the Israelites.
3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down; he set up altars for Baal and made a sacred garden, just like Ahab king of Israel did; and he worshipped the whole army of heaven and served them.
4 He made altars in God’s house, where God said, “I will place my name in Jerusalem.”
5 He made altars for all the sky’s stars in the two yards of God’s house.
6 He made his son walk through fire, tracked seasons for omens, cast spells, and talked with spirits and sorcerers. He did many evil things, making God very angry.
7 He placed an idol of the grove he made in the temple, where God told David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and Jerusalem, which I chose from all the Israelite tribes, I will put my name forever.”
8 I will not make Israel leave the land I gave their ancestors, as long as they follow all my commands and the laws Moses gave them.
9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them to do more evil than the nations God had destroyed before the Israelites.
10 God spoke through his prophets, saying,
11 Because Manasseh, the king of Judah, did these terrible things and acted more wickedly than the Amorites before him, making Judah sin with his idols.
12 So this is what God of Israel says: Look, I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that anyone who hears about it will feel their ears buzzing.
13 I will judge Jerusalem as I did Samaria and the family of Ahab. I will clean Jerusalem like someone cleans a dish, scrubbing it and flipping it over.
14 I will abandon the rest of my people, give them to their enemies, and they will be taken and stolen by all their enemies.
15 They did evil things that upset me from the time their ancestors left Egypt until today.
16 Manasseh killed many innocent people, filling Jerusalem with blood from one end to the other; this was in addition to the sin of leading Judah to do evil, which was wrong in God’s eyes.
17 The other things Manasseh did, his actions, and his sins are written in the chronicles of the kings of Judah, right?
18 Manasseh died and was buried in his own garden, the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon became king after him.
19 Amon was 22 years old when he became king, and he ruled for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah.
20 He did evil things that God saw, just like his father Manasseh did.
21 He followed in his father’s footsteps, worshiping the idols his father worshiped.
22 He left God of his ancestors and did not follow God’s way.
23 Amon’s servants plotted against him and killed the king in his own home.
24 The people of the land killed all who plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah, his son, king in his place.
25 The other things Amon did are written in the book of the history of Judah’s kings, aren’t they?
26 He was buried in his tomb in Uzza’s garden, and his son Josiah became king after him.