11Manasseh was twelve*yearsold when he becameking, and he reignedfifty-fiveyears in Jerusalem.
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2He didevil in the sight of the LORD according to the abominations of the nationswhom the LORDdispossessedbefore* the sons of Israel.
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For 3he rebuilt* the highplaceswhichHezekiah his father had brokendown; 4he also erectedaltars for the Baals and madeAsherim, and worshipedall the host of heaven and served them.
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5He builtaltars in the house of the LORD of which the LORD had said, "My name shall be 6in Jerusalemforever."
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For he builtaltars for all the host of heaven in 7the twocourts of the house of the LORD.
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8He made his sonspass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom*; and he practicedwitchcraft, useddivination, practicedsorcery and 9dealt with mediums and spiritists. He didmuchevil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
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Then he put10the carvedimage of the idolwhich he had made in the house of God, of whichGod had said to David and to Solomon his son, "11In thishouse and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My nameforever;
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and I will not againremove the foot of Israel from the land12which I have appointed for your fathers, ifonly they will observe to doall that I have commanded them according to all the law, the statutes and the ordinances given throughMoses."
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Thus ManassehmisledJudah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to domoreevilthan the nationswhom the LORDdestroyedbefore* the sons of Israel.
Manasseh's Idolatry Rebuked
10 The LORDspoke to Manasseh and his people, but 13they paidnoattention.
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14Therefore the LORDbrought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyriaagainst them, and they capturedManasseh with hooks, 15bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.
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When 16he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and 17humbled himself greatlybefore* the God of his fathers.
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When he prayed to Him, 18He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh19knew that the LORD was God.
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Now afterthis he built the outerwall of the city of David on the westside of 20Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the 21FishGate; and he encircled the 22Ophel with it and made it veryhigh. Then he putarmycommanders in all the fortifiedcities of Judah.
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He also 23removed the foreigngods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altarswhich he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.
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He set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed24peaceofferings and thankofferings on it; and he orderedJudah to serve the LORDGod of Israel.
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Nevertheless25the peoplestillsacrificed in the highplaces, although only to the LORD their God.
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Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh even 26his prayer to his God, and the words of 27the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORDGod of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of 28Israel.
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His prayer also and 29how God was entreated by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and 30the sites on which he builthighplaces and erected the Asherim and the carvedimages, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the Hozai.
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So Manassehslept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And Amon his sonbecameking in his place.
Amon Becomes King in Judah
2131Amon was twenty-two*yearsold when he becameking, and he reignedtwoyears in Jerusalem.
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He didevil in the sight of the LORD as Manasseh his father32had done, and Amonsacrificed to all33the carvedimageswhich his fatherManasseh had made, and he served them.
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Moreover, he did not humble himself before* the LORD34as his fatherManasseh had done, but Amonmultipliedguilt.
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Finally 35his servantsconspiredagainst him and put him to death in his own house.
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But the people of the landkilledall the conspiratorsagainstKingAmon, and the people of the landmadeJosiah his sonking in his place.