New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
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Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he was ruling for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
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He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, copying the disgusting ways of the nations whom the Lord had sent out of the land before the children of Israel.
3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had pulled down, and erected altars to the Baals, made sacred poles, worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.
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For he put up again the high places which had been pulled down by his father Hezekiah; and he made altars for the Baals, and pillars of wood, and was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven;
4 He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, "In Jerusalem shall my name be forever."
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And he made altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem will my name be for ever.
5 He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
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And he made altars for all the stars of heaven in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord.
6 He made his son pass through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, practiced soothsaying and augury and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
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More than this, he made his children go through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he made use of secret arts, and signs for reading the future, and unnatural powers, and gave positions to those who had control of spirits and to wonder-workers: he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, moving him to wrath.
7 The carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever;
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And he put the image he had made in the house of God, the house of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, the town which I have made mine out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8 I will never again remove the feet of Israel from the land that I appointed for your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses."
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And never again will I let the feet of Israel be moved out of the land which I have given to their fathers; if only they will take care to do all my orders, even all the law and the orders and the rules given to them by Moses.
9 Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the people of Israel.
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And Manasseh made Judah and the people of Jerusalem go out of the true way, so that they did more evil than those nations whom the Lord gave up to destruction before the children of Israel.
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they gave no heed.
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And the word of the Lord came to Manasseh and his people, but they gave no attention.
11 Therefore the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh captive in manacles, bound him with fetters, and brought him to Babylon.
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So the Lord sent against them the captains of the army of Assyria, who made Manasseh a prisoner and took him away in chains to Babylon.
12 While he was in distress he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.
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And crying out to the Lord his God in his trouble, he made himself low before the God of his fathers,
13 He prayed to him, and God received his entreaty, heard his plea, and restored him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord indeed was God.
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And made prayer to him; and in answer to his prayer God let him come back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh was certain that the Lord was God.
14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, reaching the entrance at the Fish Gate; he carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah.
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After this he made an outer wall for the town of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, as far as the way into the town by the fish doorway; and he put a very high wall round the Ophel; and he put captains of the army in all the walled towns of Judah.
15 He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them out of the city.
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He took away the strange gods and the image out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars he had put up on the hill of the Lord's house and in Jerusalem, and put them out of the town.
16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of well-being and of thanksgiving; and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord the God of Israel.
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And he put the altar of the Lord in order, offering peace-offerings and praise-offerings on it, and said that all Judah were to be servants of the Lord, the God of Israel.
17 The people, however, still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
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However, the people still made offerings in the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, these are in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
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Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words which the seers said to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded among the acts of the kings of Israel.
19 His prayer, and how God received his entreaty, all his sin and his faithlessness, the sites on which he built high places and set up the sacred poles and the images, before he humbled himself, these are written in the records of the seers.
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And the prayer which he made to God, and how God gave him an answer, and all his sin and his wrongdoing, and the places where he made high places and put up pillars of wood and images, before he put away his pride, are recorded in the history of the seers.
20 So Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in his house. His son Amon succeeded him.
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So Manasseh went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body to rest in his house, and Amon his son became king in his place.
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
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Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king; and he was ruling for two years in Jerusalem.
22 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images that his father Manasseh had made, and served them.
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He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done; and Amon made offerings to all the images which his father Manasseh had made, and was their servant.
23 He did not humble himself before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred more and more guilt.
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He did not make himself low before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done, but went on sinning more and more.
24 His servants conspired against him and killed him in his house.
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And his servants made a secret design against him, and put him to death in his house.
25 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made his son Josiah king to succeed him.
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But the people of the land put to death all those who had taken part in the design against King Amon, and made his son Josiah king in his place.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.