2 Chronicles 33:1-20
Expanded Bible
Manasseh King of Judah(A)
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. He did the ·hateful [detestable; abominable] things the nations had done—the nations that the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had torn down ·places where gods were worshiped [L the high places; 11:15], but Manasseh rebuilt them. He also built altars for the Baal gods, and he made Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] and worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [powers/hosts of heaven] and ·served [worshiped] them. 4 The Lord had said about the ·Temple [L house], “·I will be worshiped [L My name will be] in Jerusalem forever,” but Manasseh built altars in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 5 He built altars to worship the ·stars [L powers/hosts of heaven] in the two courtyards of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 He ·made his children pass through [sacrificed his children in the] fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He practiced magic and witchcraft and ·told the future by explaining signs and dreams [divination; augery]. He ·got advice from [dealt with] mediums and ·fortune-tellers [spiritualists; spiritists; Deut. 18:9–13]. He did ·many things the Lord said were wrong [L much evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes], which made the Lord angry.
7 Manasseh carved an idol and put it in the ·Temple [L house] of God. God had said to David and his son Solomon about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] forever in this ·Temple [L house] and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never again make the ·Israelites [L feet of Israel] ·leave [wander from; C into exile] the land I ·gave to [appointed for] their ·ancestors [fathers]. But they must ·obey [be careful to do] everything I have commanded them in all the ·teachings [instructions; laws], ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and ·commands [judgments] I gave them through Moses.” 9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem ·to do wrong [astray]. They did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ·did not listen [paid no attention]. 11 So the Lord brought the king of Assyria’s army commanders to attack Judah. They captured Manasseh, put hooks in him [C in his nose], ·placed bronze chains on his hands [bound him with bronze chains], and took him to Babylon. 12 ·As Manasseh suffered [L When he was in distress], he ·begged [entreated; L sought] the Lord his God for help and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ·ancestors [fathers]. 13 When Manasseh prayed, the Lord heard ·him [L his plea] and ·had pity on him [was moved]. So the Lord ·let him return [brought him back] to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is the true God.
14 After that happened, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David [C Jerusalem] and made it higher. It was in the valley on the west side of the Gihon spring and went to the entrance of the Fish Gate and around the hill of Ophel. Then he ·put [stationed] ·commanders [officers] in all the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities in Judah.
15 Manasseh removed the ·idols of other nations [foreign gods], including the idol in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. He removed all the altars he had built on the hill of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and in Jerusalem and threw them out of the city. 16 Then he ·set up [restored] the Lord’s altar and ·sacrificed [offered] on it ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] and ·offerings to show thanks to God [thank/thanksgiving offerings]. Manasseh commanded all the people of Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 The people continued to offer sacrifices at the ·places of worship [L high places], but their sacrifices were only to the Lord their God. 18 The ·other things Manasseh did as king [rest of the events/acts/history of Manasseh], his prayer to his God, and what the ·seers [prophets] said to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel—all are recorded in the ·book [scroll] of the ·history [annals; records] of the kings of Israel. 19 Manasseh’s prayer and ·God’s pity for him [how God responded to his plea/entreaty], his sins, his unfaithfulness, the ·places [sites on which] he built ·for worshiping gods [L high places; 11:15] and the Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] before he humbled himself—all are written in the ·book [scroll] of the ·seers [prophets]. 20 Manasseh ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in his ·palace [L house]. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.
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2 Kings 21:1-18
Expanded Bible
Manasseh King of Judah(A)
21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He did the ·hateful things [detestable/abominable practices] the other nations had done—the nations that the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3], but Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal, and he made an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [hosts of heaven] and served them. 4 The Lord had said about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] in Jerusalem,” but Manasseh built altars [C pagan] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 5 He built altars to worship the ·stars [hosts of heaven] in the two courtyards of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 He ·made his own son pass through fire [sacrificed his son in the fire; 16:3]. He practiced ·magic [sorcery; soothsaying] and ·told the future by explaining signs and dreams [divination], and he ·got advice from [consulted] mediums and ·fortune-tellers [psychics; spiritualists]. He did ·many things the Lord said were wrong [L much evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], which ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord to anger].
7 Manasseh carved an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] and put it in the ·Temple [L house]. The Lord had said to David and his son Solomon about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] forever in this ·Temple [L house] and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never again make the ·Israelites [L feet of Israel to] wander out of the land I gave their ·ancestors [fathers]. But they must ·obey [observe; do] everything I have commanded them and all the ·teachings [law; L torah] my servant Moses gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them to do more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets, 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has done these ·hateful things [detestable/abominable practices]. He has done more ·evil [wickedness] than the Amorites before him. He also has led Judah to sin with his idols. 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring ·so much trouble [such disaster/calamity] on Jerusalem and Judah that anyone who hears about it will ·be shocked [L have tingling ears]. 13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used for Samaria , and the plumb line used against Ahab’s ·family [L house] will be used on Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem as a person wipes a dish and turns it upside down. 14 I will ·throw away the rest of my people who are left [abandon/forsake/reject the remnant of my inheritance/heritage]. I will ·give them [hand them over; deliver them] to their enemies, and they will be ·robbed by all [the plunder and spoil of] their enemies, 15 because my people did ·what I said was wrong [L evil in my eyes/sight]. They have ·made me angry [aroused/provoked my anger] from the day their ·ancestors [fathers] left Egypt until ·now [today].’”
16 Manasseh also ·killed [murdered] many innocent people, filling Jerusalem from one end to the other with their blood. This was besides the sin he led Judah to do; he led Judah to do ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord].
17 The other things Manasseh did as king, even the sin he did, ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 18 Manasseh ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the garden of his own ·palace [L house], the garden of Uzza. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.
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