2 Kings 21:3–15

³He returned and rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal and made a pole of Asherah worship just as Ahab king of Israel had made, and he bowed down to all of the host of heaven and served them. ⁴He built altars in the temple of Yahweh about which Yahweh had said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.” ⁵He built an altar to all of the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh. ⁶He made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying and divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He increased the doing of evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him. ⁷He put the image of the Asherah that he had made in the temple of which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this temple and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. ⁸I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I have given to their ancestors,^c if they only observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, as far as the law that Moses my servant commanded them.” ⁹But Manasseh did not listen and tempted them to do evil more than the nations that Yahweh destroyed before the presence of the Israelites.^d

Yahweh Sends a Rebuke to Manasseh

¹⁰So Yahweh spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹“Because Manasseh the king of Judah committed these detestable things and did evil more than the Amorites did who were before him and caused even Judah to sin with his idols, ¹²therefore, thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘Look, I am bringing disaster upon Jerusalem and Judah about which the two ears of all who hear it will tingle. ¹³I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes the dish; he wipes it and turns it on its face. ¹⁴I will give up the remainder of my inheritance, and I will give them into the hand of their enemies. They shall become as prey and as spoil for all their enemies, ¹⁵because they have done evil in my eyes and were provoking me from the day that their ancestors^e came out from Egypt up to this day.’ ”