Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 ^xManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^yaccording to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places ^zthat Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made ^aan Asherah, ^bas Ahab king of Israel had done, ^cand worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 ^dAnd he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^e“In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars ^cfor all the host of heaven in ^fthe two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 ^gAnd he burned his son as an offering¹ and ^hused fortune-telling and ⁱomens and dealt ^jwith mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of ^aAsherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, ^eand in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 ^kAnd I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be 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 did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh’s Idolatry Denounced

10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 ^l“Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things ^mmore evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, ⁿand has made Judah also to sin ^owith his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster² that the ears of everyone who hears of it ^pwill tingle. 13 ^qAnd I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

16 ^rMoreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin ^sthat he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

17 ^tNow the rest of the acts of Manasseh and 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 ^uAnd Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, ^vin the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon Reigns in Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^was Manasseh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served ^xthe idols that his father served and worshiped them. 22 ^yHe abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. 24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that 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 ^zin the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Josiah Reigns in Judah

1 ^aJosiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^bBozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, ^cand he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to ^dHilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money ^ethat has been brought into the house of the Lord, which ^fthe keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5 ^gAnd let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house 6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But ^hno accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

Ayin

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby the will of God according to ^cthe promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, ^dmy beloved child:

^eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

3 ^fI thank God ^gwhom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^hwith a clear conscience, as I remember you ⁱconstantly in my prayers night and day. 4 ^jAs I remember your tears, ^kI long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of ^lyour sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^myour mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you ⁿto fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us ^oa spirit not of fear but ^pof power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore ^qdo not be ashamed of ^rthe testimony about our Lord, nor of ^sme his prisoner, but ^tshare in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 ^uwho saved us and ^vcalled us to¹ a holy calling, ^wnot because of our works but because of ^vhis own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^xbefore the ages began,² 10 and which now has ^ybeen manifested through ^zthe appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^awho abolished death and ^bbrought life and ^cimmortality to light through the gospel, 11 ^dfor which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 ^ewhich is why I suffer as I do. But ^fI am not ashamed, for ^gI know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^hthat day ⁱwhat has been entrusted to me.³ 13 ^jFollow ^kthe pattern of ^lthe sound⁴ words ^mthat you have heard from me, in ⁿthe faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit ^owho dwells within us, guard ⁱthe good deposit entrusted to you.

15 You are aware that ^pall who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to ^qthe household of Onesiphorus, for he often ^rrefreshed me and was not ashamed of ^smy chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome ^the searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on ^uthat day!—and you well know all the service he ^vrendered at Ephesus.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

1 You then, ^wmy child, ^xbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and ^ywhat you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^zentrust to faithful men,^{5 a}who will be able to teach others also. 3 ^bShare in suffering as ^ca good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier ^dgets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 ^eAn athlete is not ^fcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is ^gthe hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, ^hrisen from the dead, the ⁱoffspring of David, ^jas preached in my gospel, 9 ^kfor which I am suffering, ^lbound with chains as a criminal. But ^mthe word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore ⁿI endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^othe salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^peternal glory. 11 The saying is ^qtrustworthy, for:

for ^xhe cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

14 Remind them of these things, and ^ycharge them before God^{6 z}not to quarrel about words, ^awhich does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,⁷ a worker ^bwho has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But ^cavoid ^dirreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^eHymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, ^fsaying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^g“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^hwho names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

20 Now in ⁱa great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^jsome for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, ^kif anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,⁸ he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^lready for every good work.

22 So ^mflee ⁿyouthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^othose who call on the Lord ^pfrom a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^qcontroversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And ^rthe Lord’s servant⁹ must not be quarrelsome but ^skind to everyone, ^table to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents ^uwith gentleness. God ^vmay perhaps grant them repentance ^wleading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from ^xthe snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.