Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 ^qManasseh 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 ^rdid what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^saccording to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had ^tdestroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and ^umade an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the ^vhost of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars ^win the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^x“In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he ^yburned his son as an offering¹ and used ^zfortune-telling and omens and dealt with ^amediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house ^bof which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 ^cAnd 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 ^dmore 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 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore ^ethus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster² that the ^fears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And ^gI will stretch over Jerusalem the ^hmeasuring 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 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had ⁱfilled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the ^jBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the ^kgarden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 ^tManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he ^udid what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^vaccording to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had ^wbroken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and ^xmade Asheroth, and worshiped all the ^yhost of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars ^zin the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^a“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he ^bburned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used ^cfortune-telling and omens and ^dsorcery, and dealt with ^emediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, ^fof which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, 8 ^gand I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.