Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah

21 Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve, and he reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hephzibah. ² He did what the Lord considered to be evil, following the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord had expelled in full view of the people of Israel. ³ He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal, crafted an Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done, and worshipped and served the stars of heaven. ⁴ He also built altars in the Lord’s Temple, about which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will place my Name.” ⁵ He built two altars to every star in the heavens in the two courts of the Lord’s Temple. ⁶ He made his son into a burnt offering, practiced witchcraft, used divination, and consorted with mediums and spirit-channelers.^[a] He practiced many things that the Lord considered to be evil and provoked him.

⁷ He also erected the carved image of Asherah that he had made inside the Temple about which the Lord had spoken to David and to his son Solomon, “I will put my Name forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel. ⁸ And I will not make Israel’s feet to wander anymore from the land that I have given to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to do everything that I have commanded them according to the entire Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” ⁹ But they would not listen. Manasseh led them astray to practice more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed in the presence of the Israelis.

The Lord Rebukes Manasseh’s Idolatry

¹⁰ So the Lord announced through his prophets, ¹¹ “Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these despicable things, acting more sinfully than did all of the Amorites who preceded him, including making Judah sin with its idols, ¹² therefore this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look! I’m going to bring such a^[b] disaster to Jerusalem and Judah that both ears of those who hear about it will ring. ¹³ I’ll stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line that is Samaria and the plumb line that is Ahab’s dynasty. Then I’ll wipe Jerusalem like one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down! ¹⁴ I will abandon the survivors of my heritage and hand them over to their enemies. They will become war booty and spoil to all of their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done what I consider to be evil and they have provoked me from the day their ancestors left Egypt right up to this day!’”

¹⁶ In addition to this, Manasseh shed lots of innocent blood—until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another—besides his sin by which he caused Judah to sin by practicing what the Lord considered to be evil. ¹⁷ The rest of Manasseh’s deeds, including everything that he accomplished and the sin that he practiced, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? ¹⁸ Manasseh died, as did^[c] his ancestors, and he was buried in the garden at his home in the Garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.

Amon Reigns in Judah

¹⁹ Amon began to reign at the age of 22, and ruled for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰ He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as his father Manasseh had done, ²¹ because he completely adopted his father’s lifestyle, serving the same idols his father had served and worshipped. ²² As a result, he abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not walk in the Lord’s way. ²³ Later on, Amon’s staff conspired against him and killed the king inside his own home. ²⁴ But afterward, the people of the land executed everyone who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land installed his son Josiah to be king in his place.

²⁵ Now the rest of Amon’s activities that he undertook are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? ²⁶ He was buried in his own grave in the Garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.