Manasseh Reigns in Judah^(A)

21 Manasseh ^(B)was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. ² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(C)according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the ^[a]high places ^(D)which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a ^[b]wooden image, ^(E)as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he ^(F)worshiped all ^[c]the host of heaven and served them. ^4 (G)He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(H)“In Jerusalem I will put My name.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the ^(I)two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (J)Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced ^(K)soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ⁷ He even set a carved image of ^[d]Asherah that he had made, in the ^[e]house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son, ^(L)“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

^10 (A)and then come and stand before Me in this house ^(B)which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? ¹¹ Has ^(C)this house, which is called by My name, become a ^(D)den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.

¹² “But go now to ^(E)My place which was in Shiloh, ^(F)where I set My name at the first, and see ^(G)what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

³⁰ For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the Lord. ^(A)“They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to ^[a]pollute it.

⁵ Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶ Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great ^(A)abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.”