²⁶ Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger,^(A) which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh^(B) had done to arouse his anger. ²⁷ So the Lord said, “I will remove^(C) Judah also from my presence^(D) as I removed Israel, and I will reject^(E) Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’^[a]”

³ Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command,^(A) in order to remove them from his presence^(B) because of the sins of Manasseh^(C) and all he had done,

⁴ including the shedding of innocent blood.^(A) For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.^(B)