2 Kings 21

21 ¹ Manasseh became king at twelve and reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah. ² He did evil in our Father's sight, following the detestable practices of the nations he drove out before the people of Israel. ³ He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed, built altars to Baal, and made an Asherah pole as Ahab king of Israel did, bowed to all the host of heaven and served them.

⁴ He built altars in our Father's house, of which he said, "In Jerusalem I will put my name."

⁵ In both courts of our Father's house he built altars to all the host of heaven. ⁶ He sacrificed his son in the fire, practiced witchcraft and fortune-telling, consulted mediums and spirit-guides, doing much evil in our Father's eyes, provoking him to anger.

⁷ The carved Asherah he had made he set up in the house our Father had told David and his son Solomon about: "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all Israel's tribes, I will put my name forever." ⁸ I won't make Israel's feet wander again from the land I gave their ancestors, if they carefully obey all I commanded them, keeping the whole Law my servant Moses gave them."

⁹ But they did not listen; Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations our Father destroyed before Israel's people.

¹⁰ So our Father spoke through his servants the prophets:

¹¹ Because Manasseh king of Judah did these detestable things—worse than all Amorites before him—and led Judah to sin with his idols, ¹² So our Father, the God of Israel, says: I am bringing disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that will make both ears of everyone who hears ring. ¹³ Over Jerusalem I will stretch Samaria's measuring line and Ahab's house's plumb line; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping and turning it over. ¹⁴ I will abandon the rest of my inheritance, handing them to their enemies—prey and plunder for all their foes, ¹⁵ because they have done evil in my sight and provoked me since the day their ancestors left Egypt until today."

¹⁶ Manasseh shed so much innocent blood he filled Jerusalem end to end, besides the sin he led Judah into, doing evil in the sight of our Father.

¹⁷ The rest of Manasseh's acts, all he did, and the sin he committed—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ¹⁸ Manasseh rested with his ancestors, buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.

Amon Reigns and Abandons the Father

¹⁹ Amon became king at twenty-two and reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. ²⁰ He did what was evil in the sight of our Father, as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ He followed all his father's ways, serving and bowing to the idols his father served. ²² He abandoned our Father, the God of his ancestors, not walking in the way of our Father. ²³ Amon's officials conspired against him and killed the king in his own palace. ²⁴ But the people of the land killed all who had conspired against King Amon, and made his son Josiah king in his place. ²⁵ The rest of Amon's deeds—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁶ He was buried in his tomb in Uzza's garden, and his son Josiah reigned in his place.