2 Kings 21:1–23:37

Manasseh King of Judah

21:1–10pp—2Ch 33:1–10
21:17–18pp—2Ch 33:18–20

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.s 2 He did evilt in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practicesu of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high placesv his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baalw and made an Asherah pole,x as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hostsy and worshiped them. 4 He built altarsz in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.”a 5 In the two courtsb of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his own sonc in the fire, practiced divination,d sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists.e He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousingf his anger.

7 He took the carved Asherah poleg he had made and put it in the temple,h of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Namei forever. 8 I will not againj make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Mosesk gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evill than the nationsm the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets: 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more eviln than the Amoriteso who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols.p 12 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disasterq on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.r 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb lines used against the house of Ahab. I will wipet out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 I will forsakeu the remnantv of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; 15 they have done evilw in my eyes and have arousedx my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.”

16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent bloody that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judahz to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

17 As for the other events of Manasseh’s reign, and all he did, including the sin he committed, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 18 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace garden,a the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah

21:19–24pp—2Ch 33:21–25

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did evilb in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them. 22 He forsookc the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walkd in obedience to him.

23 Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinatede the king in his palace. 24 Then the people of the land killedf all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiahg his son king in his place.

25 As for the other events of Amon’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 26 He was buried in his tomb in the gardenh of Uzza. And Josiah his son succeeded him as king.

The Book of the Law Found

22:1–20pp—2Ch 34:1–2,8–28

22 Josiahi was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.j 2 He did what was rightk in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the rightl or to the left.

3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphanm son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiahn the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collectedo from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repairp the temple of the Lord—6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.q 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”r

8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Laws in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.t

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,u he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikamv son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:w 13 “Go and inquirex of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s angery that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetz Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disastera on this place and its people, according to everything written in the bookb the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsakenc me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,a my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquired of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humblede yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curseb f and be laid wasteg—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.h Your eyesi will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’ ”

So they took her answer back to the king.

Josiah Renews the Covenant

23:1–3pp—2Ch 34:29–32
23:4–20Ref—2Ch 34:3–7, 33
23:21–23pp—2Ch 35:1,18–19
23:28–30pp—2Ch 35:20–36:1

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He readj in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,k which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillarl and renewed the covenantm in the presence of the Lord—to follown the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeeperso to removep from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. 5 He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incenseq to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.r 6 He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valleys outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powdert and scattered the dust over the gravesu of the common people.v 7 He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutesw that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

8 Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Gebax to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. 9 Although the priests of the high places did not servey at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 He desecrated Topheth,z which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,a so no one could use it to sacrifice their sonb or daughter in the fire to Molek. 11 He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judahc had dedicated to the sun. They were in the courta near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.d

12 He pulled downe the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the rooff near the upper room of Ahaz…