33Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve years, and continued to reign for 55 years in Jerusalem.H4519H8147H6240H8141H1121H4427H4427H2572H2568H8141H3389 2But he practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by behaving detestably, as did the nations whom the Lord expelled in front of the Israelites.H6213H7451H5869H3068H8441H1471H3068H3423H6440H1121H3478 3He re-established the high places that his father Hezekiah had demolished, he built altars to the Baals, erected Asherim, and worshiped and served the armies of heaven.H1129H7725H1116H3169H1H5422H6965H4196H1168H6213H842H7812H6635H8064H5647 4He also built altars in the Lord's temple, about which the Lord had spoken "My name shall reside in Jerusalem forever."H1129H4196H1004H3068H3068H559H3389H8034H5769 5He built altars for all the armies of heaven in the two courtyards of the Lord's temple.H1129H4196H6635H8064H8147H2691H1004H3068 6He burned his sons as an offering in the Ben-hinnom Valley, practiced fortune-telling, witchcraft, sorcery, and communicated with mediums and separatists. He did a lot of things that the Lord considered to be evil, thus provoking him.H5674H1121H5674H784H1516H1121H2011H6049H5172H3784H6213H178H3049H6213H7235H7451H5869H3068H3707 7He also placed an image that he had carved in God's temple, the place about which God had told to David and to his son Solomon, "I will place my name in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,"H7760H6459H5566H6213H1004H430H430H559H1732H8010H1121H1004H3389H977H7626H3478H7760H8034H5865 8and "I won't let Israel's foothold slip on the land that I've given to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to keep everything that I commanded them in the Law, in the statutes, and in the ordinance through Moses."H3254H5493H7272H3478H5921H127H5975H1H518H8104H6213H6680H8451H2706H4941H3027H4872 9This is how Manasseh deceived Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to practice more evil than the nations whom the Lord had eliminated in front of the Israelites.H4519H8582H3063H3427H3389H8582H6213H7451H1471H3068H8045H6440H1121H3478 10The Lord kept on speaking to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention to him,H3068H1696H4519H5971H7181 11so the Lord brought in the army commanders who worked for the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him in bronze chains, and took him off to Babylon.H3068H935H8269H6635H4428H804H3920H4519H2336H631H5178H3212H894 12But when he was in trouble, he sought the face of the Lord his God, humbled himself magnificently before the God of his ancestors,H6887H2470H3068H430H3665H3966H6440H430H1 13and prayed to him. Moved by Manasseh's entreaties, the Lord heard his supplications and brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. That's how Manasseh learned that the Lord is God.11H6419H6279H8085H8467H7725H3389H4438H4519H3045H3068H430 14Later on, Manasseh reinforced the outer wall to the city of David on the west side overlooking the Gihon Valley as far as the Fish Gate. He encircled the Ophel, raising it to a great height.H310H1129H2346H2435H5892H1732H4628H1521H5158H935H1709H8179H5437H6077H1361H3966H7760H8269H2428H1219H5892H3063 15He also eliminated the foreign gods and idols from the Lord's temple, along with all of the altars that he had built in Jerusalem and on the mountain where the Lord's temple was located, and he discarded them outside the city.H5493H5236H430H5566H1004H3068H4196H1129H2022H1004H3068H3389H7993H2351H5892 16He set up an altar to the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings on it, and ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.H1129H4196H3068H2076H8002H2077H8426H559H3063H5647H3068H430H3478 17Even so, the people continued to sacrifice in the high places, but only to the Lord their God.H61H5971H2076H1116H3068H430 18Now as to the rest of Manasseh's accomplishments, including his prayer to God and what the seers had to say to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, they are included among the Acts of the Kings of Israel.H3499H1697H4519H8605H430H1697H2374H1696H8034H3068H430H3478H1697H4428H3478 19His prayer, how God was moved by him, all of his sin and unfaithfulness, and a record of the sites where he constructed high places, erected Asherim and carved images before he humbled himself are written in the Acts of the Seers.H8605H6279H2403H4604H4725H1129H1116H5975H842H6456H6440H3665H3789H1697H2374H2335 20So Manasseh died, as had his ancestors, and they buried him in his own palace while his son Amon became king in his place.H4519H7901H1H6912H1004H526H1121H4427 21Amon was 22 years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.H526H8147H6242H8141H1121H4427H4427H8147H8141H3389 22He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as his father Manasseh had done, sacrificing to and serving all the carved images that his father Manasseh had made,H6213H7451H5869H3068H6213H4519H1H526H2076H6456H4519H1H6213H5647 23except that he never humbled himself to the Lord like his father Manasseh had done. In fact, Amon multiplied his own guiltH3665H6440H3068H4519H1H3665H526H819H7235 24until his servants finally conspired against him and executed him in his own palace.H5650H7194H4191H1004 25But the people of the land executed all of the conspirators against King Amon and installed his son Josiah as king to succeed him.H5971H776H5221H7194H4428H526H5971H776H4427H2977H1121H4427
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