^aManasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 ^aAnd he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh dispossessed before the sons of Israel. 3 Indeed, ^ahe rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had torn down; and ^bhe erected altars for the Baals and made ¹Asherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 ^aAnd he built altars in the house of Yahweh, of which Yahweh had said, “^bIn Jerusalem My name shall be forever.” 5 Indeed, he built altars for all the host of heaven in ^athe two courts of the house of Yahweh. 6 ^aHe even made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced soothsaying, interpreted omens, practiced sorcery, and ^bdealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much that was evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. 7 Then he put ^athe graven image of the ¹idol, which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “^bIn this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. 8 And I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land ^awhich I have set up for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them according to all the law, the statutes and the judgments given by the hand of Moses.” 9 Thus Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray in order to do more evil than the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the sons of Israel.

10 Then Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and his people, but ^athey paid no attention. 11 ^aTherefore Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with ¹hooks, ^bbound him with bronze chains, and took him to Babylon. 12 And when ^ahe was in distress, he entreated Yahweh his God and ^bhumbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 Then he prayed to Him, and ^aHe was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and returned him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh ^bknew that Yahweh was God.

14 Afterwards, he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of ^aGihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the ^bFish Gate; and he encircled the ^cOphel with it and made it very high. Then he put military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He also ^aremoved the foreign gods and the ¹idol from the house of Yahweh, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. 16 And he set up the altar of Yahweh and sacrificed ^apeace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he said for Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless ^athe people still sacrificed in the high places, although only to Yahweh their God.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, even ^ahis prayer to his God, and the words of ^bthe seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are among the chronicles of the kings of ^cIsrael. 19 His prayer also and ^ahow God was entreated by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and ^bthe sites on which he built high places and erected the ¹Asherim and the graven images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the chronicles of the ²Hozai. 20 And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And Amon his son became king in his place.

21 ^aAmon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh his father ^ahad done, and Amon sacrificed to all ^bthe graven images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. 23 Moreover, he did not humble himself before Yahweh ^aas his father Manasseh had humbled himself, but Amon multiplied guilt. 24 Then ^ahis servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. 25 Then the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.