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.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

1 ^jManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to ^kthe abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places ^lthat his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made ^mAsheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ⁿ“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in ^othe two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 ^pAnd he burned his sons as an offering ^qin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and ^rused fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with ^smediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And ^tthe carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of 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, ⁿI will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land ^uthat 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.

Manasseh’s Repentance

10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 ^vTherefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and ^wbound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God ^xand humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and ^yGod was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. ^zThen Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of ^aGihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into ^bthe Fish Gate, and carried it around ^cOphel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And ^dhe took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 ^eNevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and ^fhis prayer to his God, and the words of ^gthe seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the ^hChronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how ^yGod was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites ⁱon which he built high places and set up the ⁱAsherim and the images, before ^xhe humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.¹ 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death

21 ^jAmon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images ^kthat Manasseh his father had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^las Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. 25 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.

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

Ministers of the New Covenant

1 ^qAre we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ^ras some do, ^sletters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 ^tYou yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our¹ hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ^uthe living God, not on ^vtablets of stone but on ^wtablets of ^xhuman hearts.²

4 ^ySuch is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 ^zNot that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but ^aour sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ^bministers of ^ca new covenant, not of ^dthe letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ^ethe Spirit gives life.

7 Now if ^fthe ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory ^gthat the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in ^hthe ministry of condemnation, ⁱthe ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

12 Since we have such a hope, ^jwe are very bold, 13 not like Moses, ^kwho would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But ^ltheir minds were ^mhardened. For to this day, ⁿwhen they read ^othe old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when ^pone³ turns to the Lord, ^qthe veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord⁴ is the Spirit, and where ^rthe Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^sfreedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, ^tbeholding ^uthe glory of the Lord,^{5 v}are being transformed into the same image ^wfrom one degree of glory to another.⁶ For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.