After Much Wickedness, Manasseh Humbles His Heart Before God |
2 Chronicles 33:1-25 2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks] |
Manasseh, [Hezekiah’s son,] was 12 years old when he began to [rule & he ruled] 55 years in Jerusalem. [Manasseh did what] was evil in the sight of the Lord, like the heathen, [whom] the Lord had cast out before the children [people] of Israel. |
For he [rebuilt] the high places again [that] Hezekiah, his father, had broken down & he [put] up altars for Baalim & made groves & worshiped all the [stars & constellations] of heaven & served them. |
Also, he built altars in the [Lord’s] house, [where] the Lord had said, My Name shall be [here] in Jerusalem forever. And [Manasseh] built altars for all the [stars & constellations] of heaven in the 2 [courtyards] of the Lord’s] house. |
And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. He also observed times [astrology & horoscopes] & used enchantments [casting spells] & used witchcraft & dealt with familiar spirits [those who contact the dead] & with wizards. |
He [did] much evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger. And he [put] a carved image, the idol [that] he had made, in the house of God, of which [the Lord] God had said to David & to Solomon, his son, In this house in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel & I will put My Name [here] forever. |
Neither will I remove the foot of Israel from out of the land anymore, [that] I appointed for your [forefathers,] so that they will [pay attention] to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law & the statutes & the [rules at] the hand of Moses. |
So, Manasseh made Judah & the inhabitants of Jerusalem [to go astray] & to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord destroyed before the [people] of Israel. The Lord [spoke] to Manasseh & to his people, but they [wouldn’t listen & obey.] [Therefore,] the Lord brought captains of [Assyria’s king’s army] upon them. |
[They] took Manasseh [prisoner & put a hook in his nose] & bound him with [iron shackles] & carried him [captive] to Babylon. When [Manasseh] was [distressed,] he [turned to] the Lord his God & humbled himself greatly before the God of his [forefathers] & prayed to Him. |
[The Lord] was [moved by Manasseh’s earnest request] & brought [Manasseh back] to Jerusalem, into his kingdom. Then, Manasseh knew the Lord was God. After this, [Manasseh] built a wall [outside] the city of David. [The wall was] on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, [up] to the [entrance of] the Fish Gate & [surrounded] Ophel & raised [the wall] up [to] a great height. |
[Manasseh] put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. [Manasseh] took away the strange gods & the idol out of the [Lord’s] house & all the altars that he had built in the [mountain] of the [Lord’s] house & [threw] them out of the city. |
[Manasseh] repaired the altar of the Lord & sacrificed peace offerings & thank offerings [on it] & commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. [But] the people still sacrificed in the high places, [but] only to the Lord, their God. |
Now, the rest of [Manasseh’s actions] & his prayer to [the Lord,] his God & the words the seers [prophets who have divine visions] [spoke] to him in the Name of the Lord God of Israel, are written in the Book of [the] Kings of Israel. |
Also, [Manasseh’s] prayer & how God [was moved by his earnest plea about] all his [tresspasses] & [sins] in [building] the high places & [putting] up groves & [engraved] images, before he was humbled [are also] written among the [records] of the seers. |
So, Manasseh [died] & slept with his [forefathers.] They buried him in his own house & his son, Amon [ruled] in his place. Amon was 22 years old when he began to [rule] & he [ruled] 2 years in Jerusalem. [Amon] did [what] was evil in the sight of the Lord, [like] his father, Manasseh did. |
Amon sacrificed to all the carved images, [that] his father, Manasseh had made & served them. [He didn’t] humble himself before the Lord [God,] as Manasseh, his father had humbled himself. But Amon [sinned] more & more. |
[Amon’s] servants conspired against him & [killed] him in his own house. But the people of the land [killed] all [those who] had conspired against king Amon. The people of the land made his son, Josiah, king in his [place.] |