2 Kings 21-22

GOD’S WORD Translation

King Manasseh of Judah^(A)

21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

² He did what the Lord considered evil by copying the disgusting things done by the nations that the Lord had forced out of the Israelites’ way. ³ He rebuilt the illegal places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He set up altars dedicated to Baal and made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh, like Ahab, worshiped and served the entire army of heaven. ⁴ He built altars in the Lord’s temple, where the Lord had said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.” ⁵ In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple, he built altars for the entire army of heaven. ⁶ He burned his son as a sacrifice, consulted fortunetellers, cast evil spells, and appointed ⌞royal⌟ mediums and psychics. He did many things that made the Lord furious. ⁷ Manasseh had an idol of Asherah made. Then he set it up in the temple, where the Lord had said to David and his son Solomon, “I have chosen this temple and Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. I will put my name here forever. ⁸ I will never again make Israel’s feet wander from the land that I gave to their ancestors if they will obey all the commands and all the Teachings that my servant Moses gave them.” ⁹ (But they wouldn’t obey.) Manasseh misled Israel so that they did more evil things than the nations that the Lord had destroyed when the Israelites arrived in the land.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke through his servants the prophets: ¹¹ “King Manasseh of Judah has done disgusting things, things more evil than what the Amorites who ⌞were here⌟ before him had done. Manasseh has also made Judah sin by ⌞worshiping⌟ his idols. ¹² So this is what I, the Lord God of Israel, said: I’m going to bring such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. ¹³ I will measure Jerusalem with the measuring line used for Samaria and the plumb line used for Ahab’s dynasty. I will wipe out Jerusalem in the same way that a dish is wiped out and turned upside down. ¹⁴ I will abandon the rest of my people. I will put them under the control of their enemies, and they will become property that their enemies capture. ¹⁵ I will do this because they have done what I consider evil and have been making me furious from the time their ancestors left Egypt until this day.”

¹⁶ In addition to his sin that he led Judah to commit in front of the Lord, Manasseh also killed a lot of innocent people from one end of Jerusalem to the other. ¹⁷ Isn’t everything else about Manasseh—everything he did, the sins he committed—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? ¹⁸ Manasseh lay down in death with his ancestors. He was buried in the garden of his own palace, in the garden of Uzza. His son Amon succeeded him as king.

King Amon of Judah^(B)

¹⁹ Amon was 22 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 2 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. ²⁰ He did what the Lord considered evil, as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ He lived like his father in every way and worshiped and prayed to the idols his father had worshiped. ²² He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and didn’t live the Lord’s way. ²³ Amon’s officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. ²⁴ Then the people of the land killed everyone who had plotted against King Amon. They made his son Josiah king in his place. ²⁵ Isn’t everything else about Amon—the things he did—written in the official record of the kings of Judah? ²⁶ He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. His son Josiah succeeded him as king.

King Josiah of Judah^(C)

22 Josiah was 8 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. ² Josiah did what the Lord considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped.

The Book of the Lord’s Teachings Found in the Temple^(D)

³ In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king of Judah, he sent the scribe Shaphan, son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these instructions: ⁴ “Go to the chief priest Hilkiah. Have him count the money that has been brought into the Lord’s temple, ⌞the money⌟ that the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ⁵ Give ⌞some of⌟ it to the foremen who are in charge of the Lord’s temple. They should give it to the workmen who are making repairs on the Lord’s temple. ⁶ (These workers include the carpenters, builders, and masons.) Also, use ⌞the rest of⌟ the money to buy lumber and quarried stones to repair the temple. ⁷ Since the workmen are honest, don’t require them to account for the money you give them.”

⁸ The chief priest Hilkiah told the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the Book of Moses’ Teachings in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who then read it.

⁹ The scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, “We have taken the money donated in the temple and have given it to the workmen who are in charge of the Lord’s temple.” ¹⁰ Then the scribe Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it to the king.

¹¹ When the king heard what the book of the Teachings said, he tore his clothes ⌞in distress⌟. ¹² Then the king gave an order to the priest Hilkiah, to Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Achbor (son of Micaiah), the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said, ¹³ “On behalf of the people, all of Judah, and me, ask the Lord about the words in this book that has been found. The Lord’s fierce anger is directed towards us because our ancestors did not obey the things in this book or do everything written ⌞in it⌟.” ^[a]

¹⁴ So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to talk to the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas. Shallum was in charge of the ⌞royal⌟ wardrobe. Huldah was living in the Second Part of Jerusalem.

¹⁵ She told them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to bring disaster on this place and on the people living here according to everything written in the book that the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ I will do this because they have abandoned me and sacrificed to other gods in order to make me furious. Therefore, my burning anger directed at this place will never be extinguished.’ ”

¹⁸ ⌞Huldah added,⌟ “But tell Judah’s king who sent you to me to ask the Lord a question, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says about the words you heard: ¹⁹ You had a change of heart and humbled yourself in front of the Lord when you heard my words against this place and those who live here. I had said that those who live here will be destroyed and cursed. You also tore your clothes ⌞in distress⌟ and cried in front of me. So I will listen ⌞to you⌟, declares the Lord. ²⁰ That is why I’m going to bring you to your ancestors. I’m going to bring you to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I’m going to bring on this place.’ ”

So they reported this to the king.