2 Chronicles 33

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he was ruling for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

2 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the disgusting things of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel.

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, copying the disgusting ways of the nations whom the Lord had sent out of the land before the children of Israel.

3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he built altars for the Baals, he made Asherah poles, and he bowed down to all the stars of heaven and worshiped them.

For he put up again the high places which had been pulled down by his father Hezekiah; and he made altars for the Baals, and pillars of wood, and was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven;

4 Manasseh built altars in the house of Yahweh, although Yahweh had commanded, “It is in Jerusalem that my name will be forever.”

And he made altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem will my name be for ever.

5 He built altars for all the stars of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh.

And he made altars for all the stars of heaven in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord.

6 In the Valley of Ben Hinnom he caused his sons to pass through the fire. He practiced sorcery, divination and he read omens, and he consulted with those who talked with the dead and with those who talked with spirits. Manasseh did much evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he provoked him to anger.

More than this, he made his children go through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he made use of secret arts, and signs for reading the future, and unnatural powers, and gave positions to those who had control of spirits and to wonder-workers: he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, moving him to wrath.

7 The carved figure he had made, he placed it in the house of God. It was about this house that God had spoken to David and Solomon his son; he had said, “It is in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that I will put my name forever.

And he put the image he had made in the house of God, the house of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, the town which I have made mine out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

8 I will not move the people of Israel any more out of the land that I assigned to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to keep all that I have commanded them, following all the law, statutes, and decrees which I gave them through Moses.”

And never again will I let the feet of Israel be moved out of the land which I have given to their fathers; if only they will take care to do all my orders, even all the law and the orders and the rules given to them by Moses.

9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil even more than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed before the people of Israel.

And Manasseh made Judah and the people of Jerusalem go out of the true way, so that they did more evil than those nations whom the Lord gave up to destruction before the children of Israel.

10 Yahweh spoke to Manasseh, and to his people, but they paid no attention.

And the word of the Lord came to Manasseh and his people, but they gave no attention.

11 So Yahweh brought on them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and took him off to Babylon.

So the Lord sent against them the captains of the army of Assyria, who made Manasseh a prisoner and took him away in chains to Babylon.

12 When Manasseh was in distress, he implored Yahweh, his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.

And crying out to the Lord his God in his trouble, he made himself low before the God of his fathers,

13 He prayed to him; and God was begged by him, and God heard his begging and brought him back to Jerusalem, into his kingship. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

And made prayer to him; and in answer to his prayer God let him come back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh was certain that the Lord was God.

14 After this, Manasseh built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, to the entrance at the Fish Gate. He surrounded the hill of Ophel with it and raised the wall up to a very great height. He put courageous commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

After this he made an outer wall for the town of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, as far as the way into the town by the fish doorway; and he put a very high wall round the Ophel; and he put captains of the army in all the walled towns of Judah.

15 He took away the foreign gods, the idol out of the house of Yahweh, and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and threw them out of the city.

He took away the strange gods and the image out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars he had put up on the hill of the Lord's house and in Jerusalem, and put them out of the town.

16 He rebuilt the altar of Yahweh and offered on it sacrifices of fellowship offerings and thank offerings; he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.

And he put the altar of the Lord in order, offering peace-offerings and praise-offerings on it, and said that all Judah were to be servants of the Lord, the God of Israel.

17 However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to Yahweh, their God.

However, the people still made offerings in the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

18 As to the other matters concerning Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the deeds of the kings of Israel.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words which the seers said to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded among the acts of the kings of Israel.

19 In that account there is history of his prayer, and how God was moved by it. There is also an account of all his sin and his trespasses, and the places where he had built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the carved figures, before he humbled himself—they are written about in the Chronicles of the Seers.

And the prayer which he made to God, and how God gave him an answer, and all his sin and his wrongdoing, and the places where he made high places and put up pillars of wood and images, before he put away his pride, are recorded in the history of the seers.

20 So Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in his own house. Amon, his son, became king in his place.

So Manasseh went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body to rest in his house, and Amon his son became king in his place.

21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned two years in Jerusalem.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king; and he was ruling for two years in Jerusalem.

22 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh, his father, had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved figures that Manasseh his father had made, and he worshiped them.

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done; and Amon made offerings to all the images which his father Manasseh had made, and was their servant.

23 He did not humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. Instead, this same Amon trespassed more and more.

He did not make himself low before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done, but went on sinning more and more.

24 His servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house.

And his servants made a secret design against him, and put him to death in his house.

25 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made Josiah, his son, king in his place.

But the people of the land put to death all those who had taken part in the design against King Amon, and made his son Josiah king in his place.