2 Kings 21

Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah

11Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. 22He did evil in the sight of the Lord, 3in accordance with the abominations of the nations whom the Lord 4dispossessed before the sons of Israel. 3For 5he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had destroyed; and 6he erected altars for Baal and made an 7Asherah, just as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he 8worshiped all the heavenly 9lights and served them. 4And 10he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “11In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5He built altars for 12all the heavenly 13lights in 14the two courtyards of the house of the Lord. 6And 15he made his son pass through the fire, 16interpreted signs, practiced divination, and used mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger. 7Then 17he put the carved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “18In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. 8And I 19will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will take care to act in accordance with everything that I have commanded them, and with all the Law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9But they did not listen, and Manasseh 20encouraged them to do evil, more than the nations whom the Lord eliminated from the presence of the sons of Israel.

The King’s Idolatries Rebuked

10Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, 11“21Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations, 22having done more evil than all that the Amorites did who were before him, and 23has also misled Judah into sin 24with his idols, 12therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears about it, 25both of his ears will ring. 1326I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes a bowl, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoils to all their enemies, 15because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.’”

1627Furthermore, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem 28from one end to another, besides his sin 29into which he misled Judah, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 1730Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and his sin which he 31committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 1832And Manasseh 33lay down with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, 34in the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon became king in his place.

Amon Succeeds Manasseh

1935Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20He did evil in the sight of the Lord, 36just as his father Manasseh had done. 21For he walked 37entirely in the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. 22So 38he abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23And 39the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house. 24Then 40the people of the land 41killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. 25Now 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? 26He was buried in his grave 42in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.