| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. | 1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. |
| 2He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. | 2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. |
| 3He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. | 3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven. |
| 4He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” | 4Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.” |
| 5He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD’s Temple. | 5In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. |
| 6Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD’s sight, arousing his anger. | 6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. |
| 7Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the LORD had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. | 7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever. |
| 8If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws my servant Moses gave them—I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors.” | 8I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they are careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole Law that My servant Moses commanded them.” |
| 9But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land. | 9But the people did not listen and Manasseh led them astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites. |
| 10Then the LORD said through his servants the prophets: | 10And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, |
| 11“King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols. | 11“Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin, |
| 12So this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror. | 12this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it. |
| 13I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measure I used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. | 13I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down. |
| 14Then I will reject even the remnant of my own people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies. | 14So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. And they will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies, |
| 15For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt.” | 15because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt until this day.’ ” |
| 16Manasseh also murdered many innocent people until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he caused the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in the LORD’s sight. | 16Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD. |
| 17The rest of the events in Manasseh’s reign and everything he did, including the sins he committed, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. | 17As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? |
| 18When Manasseh died, he was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon became the next king. Amon Rules in Judah | 18And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place. |
| 19Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. | 19Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. |
| 20He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. | 20And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. |
| 21He followed the example of his father, worshiping the same idols his father had worshiped. | 21He walked in all the ways of his father, and he served and worshiped the idols his father had served. |
| 22He abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors, and he refused to follow the LORD’s ways. | 22He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. |
| 23Then Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. | 23Then the servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. |
| 24But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king. | 24But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place. |
| 25The rest of the events in Amon’s reign and what he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. | 25As for the rest of the acts of Amon, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? |
| 26He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Josiah became the next king. | 26And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah reigned in his place. |
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