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Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah

^1 (C1)Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hephzibah.^2 (C1)He did evil in the sight of the LORD, ^(C2)in accordance with the abominations of the nations whom the LORD ^(F1)dispossessed before the sons of Israel.³ For ^(C1)he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had destroyed; and ^(C2)he erected altars for Baal and made an ^(F1)Asherah, just as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he ^(C3)worshiped all the heavenly ^(F2)lights and served them.⁴ And ^(C1)he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "^(C2)In Jerusalem I will put My name."⁵ He built altars for ^(C1)all the heavenly ^(F1)lights in ^(C2)the two courtyards of the house of the LORD.⁶ And ^(C1)he made his son pass through the fire, ^(C2)interpreted signs, practiced divination, and used mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.⁷ Then ^(C1)he put the carved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon, "^(C2)In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.⁸ "And I ^(C1)will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will take care to act in accordance with everything that I have commanded them, and with all the Law that My servant Moses commanded them."⁹ But they did not listen, and Manasseh ^(C1)encouraged them to do evil, more than the nations whom the LORD eliminated from the presence of the sons of Israel.

The King's Idolatries Rebuked

¹⁰ Now the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying,¹¹ "^(C1)Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations, ^(C2)having done more evil than all that the Amorites did who were before him, and ^(C3)has also misled Judah into sin ^(C4)with his idols,¹² therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I am bringing such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears about it, ^(C1)both of his ears will ring.¹³ '^(C1)I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes a bowl, wiping it and turning it upside down.¹⁴ 'And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and hand them over to their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoils to all their enemies,¹⁵ because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.'"

^16 (C1)Furthermore, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem ^(F1)from one end to another, besides his sin ^(C2)into which he misled Judah, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.^17 (C1)Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and his sin which he ^(F1)committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?^18 (C1)And Manasseh ^(F1)lay down with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, ^(C2)in the garden of Uzza, and his son Amon became king in his place.

Amon Succeeds Manasseh

^19 (C1)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.²⁰ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, ^(C1)just as his father Manasseh had done.²¹ For he walked ^(F1)entirely in the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them.²² So ^(C1)he abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.²³ And ^(C1)the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house.²⁴ Then ^(C1)the people of the land ^(F1)killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.²⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?²⁶ He was buried in his grave ^(C1)in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.