Manasseh King of Judah

33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah. He was king for 55 years in Jerusalem. ²Manasseh did the things that the Lord said were wrong. He followed the terrible and sinful ways of the nations that the Lord had forced out of the land before the people of Israel. ³Manasseh built again the high places* that Hezekiah his father had broken down. Manasseh built altars for the Baal gods and made Asherah Poles.* He bowed down to the constellations* and worshiped those groups of stars. ⁴Manasseh built altars for false gods in the Lord’s temple.* The Lord said about the temple, “My name will be in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵Manasseh built altars for all the groups of stars in the two yards of the Lord’s temple. ⁶Manasseh also burned his own children for a sacrifice* in the Valley of Ben Hinnom.* Manasseh also used magic by doing soothsaying, divination, and sorcery.* He talked with mediums* and wizards.* Manasseh did many things that the Lord said was wrong, and this made the Lord angry. ⁷Manasseh also made a statue of an idol and put it in God’s temple—the very same temple that God had talked about to David and his son Solomon. God had said, “I will put my name in this house and in Jerusalem—the city that I chose from {all the cities in} all the family groups—{and my name will be there} forever! ⁸I will not continue to keep the Israelites off the land that I chose to give to their ancestors.* But they must obey all the things I commanded them. The people of Israel must obey all the laws, rules, and commands that I gave Moses to give to them.” ⁹Manasseh encouraged the people of Judah and the people living in Jerusalem to do wrong. They were worse than the nations that were in the land before the Israelites—and the Lord destroyed those people! ¹⁰The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they refused to listen. ¹¹So the Lord brought commanders from the king of Assyria’s army to attack Judah. Those commanders captured Manasseh and made him their prisoner. They put hooks in him and brass chains on his hands and took him to the country of Babylon. ¹²When these troubles came to him, Manasseh begged for help from the Lord his God. Manasseh humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.* ¹³Manasseh prayed to God and begged God to help him. The Lord heard Manasseh’s begging and felt sorry for him. The Lord let him return to Jerusalem and to his throne. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was the true God. ¹⁴After that happened, Manasseh built an outer wall for the City of David.* This wall went to the west of Gihon Spring in {Kidron} Valley, to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and around the hill of Ophel.* He made the wall very tall. Then he put officers in all the fortresses* in Judah. ¹⁵Manasseh took away the strange idol gods. He took the idol out from the Lord’s temple. He took away all the altars he had built on the temple hill, and in Jerusalem. Manasseh threw all those altars out of the city of Jerusalem. ¹⁶Then he set up the Lord’s altar and offered fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it. Manasseh gave a command for all the people of Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁷The people continued to offer sacrifices* at the high places,* but their sacrifices were only to the Lord their God. ¹⁸The other things Manasseh did, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers* that spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are all written in the book, The Official Records of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁹Manasseh’s prayer and how God listened and felt sorry for him is written in The Book of the Seers. Also all of Manasseh’s sins and wrongs before he humbled himself, and the places where he built high places* and set up the Asherah Poles* are written in The Book of the Seers. ²⁰So Manasseh died and was buried with his ancestors.* The people buried Manasseh in his own king’s house. Amon became the new king in Manasseh’s place. Amon was Manasseh’s son. Amon King of Judah ²¹Amon was 22 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king for two years in Jerusalem. ²²Amon did evil things before the Lord. He did not do the things the Lord wanted him to do just like Manasseh his father. Amon offered sacrifices* for all the carved idols and statues that Manasseh his father made. Amon worshiped those idols. ²³Amon did not humble himself in front of the Lord like Manasseh his father humbled himself. But Amon sinned more and more. ²⁴Amon’s servants made plans against him. They killed Amon in his own house. ²⁵But the people of Judah killed all those servants that planned against King Amon. Then the people chose Josiah to be the new king. Josiah was Amon’s son.

high places Places for worshiping God or false gods. These places were often on the hills and mountains. Asherah Poles Poles used to honor the goddess Asherah. People thought she could help them have many children. constellations Groups of stars. These are probably the twelve “signs of the Zodiac.” Some people thought the stars, not God, control their life. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. sacrifice(s) A gift to God. Usually, it was a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar. Valley of Ben Hinnom Later called “Gehenna.” this valley was west and south of Jerusalem. Many babies and young children were sacrificed to false gods in this valley. soothsaying, divination, sorcery Different ways people try to do magic or tell what will happen in the future. medium(s) A person who tries to communicate with the spirits of dead people. wizard(s) A person who tries to use evil spirits to do magic. ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. City of David The southeastern and oldest part of the city of Jerusalem. Ophel The upper part of the City of David, just south of the temple area. fortress(es) A building or city with tall, strong walls for protection. seer(s) This is another name for a prophet. See 1 Sam. 9:9–11.

Josiah King of Judah

34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. ²Josiah did what was right. He did the things the Lord wanted him to do. He did good things like David his ancestor.* Josiah did not turn from doing right things. ³When Josiah was in his eighth year as king, he began to follow the God that David his ancestor followed. Josiah was still young when he began to obey God. When Josiah was in his twelfth year as king he began to destroy the high places*, the Asherah Poles,* and idols that were carved and idols that were made from molds from Judah and Jerusalem. ⁴The people broke down the altars for the Baal gods. They did this in front of Josiah. Then Josiah cut down the incense* altars that stood high above the people. He broke the idols that were carved and the idols that were made from molds. He beat those idols into powder. Then Josiah sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people that had offered sacrifices* to the Baal gods. ⁵Josiah even burned the bones of the priests that had served the Baal gods on their own altars. This is how Josiah destroyed idols and idol worship from Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶Josiah did the same for the towns in the areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and all the way to Naphtali. He did the same for the ruins near all those towns.* ⁷Josiah broke down the altars and the Asherah Poles. He beat the idols into powder. He cut down all the incense altars used for Baal worship in all the country of Israel. Then Josiah went back to Jerusalem. ⁸When Josiah was in his 18th year as king of Judah he sent Shaphan, Maaseiah, and Joah to build again and fix the temple* of the Lord his God. Shaphan’s father’s name was Azaliah. Maaseiah was the city leader, and Joah’s father’s name was Jehoahaz. Joah was the man that wrote about the things that happened. So Josiah commanded the temple to be fixed so he could make Judah and the temple clean. ⁹Those men came to Hilkiah the High Priest. They gave him the money that people gave for God’s temple. The Levite doorkeepers had collected this money from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from all the Israelites that were left. They also collected this money from all Judah, Benjamin, and all the people living in Jerusalem. ¹⁰Then the Levites paid the men that supervised the work on the Lord’s temple. And the supervisors paid the workers that fixed the Lord’s temple. ¹¹They gave the money to carpenters and builders to buy large rocks that were already cut, and to buy wood. The wood was used to build again the buildings and to make beams for the buildings. In the past, the kings of Judah did not take care of the temple buildings. Those buildings had become old and ruined. ^12–13The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah. Jahath and Obadiah were Levites, and they were descendants of Merari. Other supervisors were Zechariah and Meshullam. They were descendants of Kohath. The Levites that were skilled in playing instruments of music also supervised the laborers and all the other workers. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officials, and doorkeepers.

The Book of the Law Found

¹⁴The Levites brought out the money that was in the Lord’s temple.* At that time Hilkiah the priest found the Book of The Law of the Lord that was given through Moses. ¹⁵Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s house*!” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶Shaphan brought the book to King Josiah. Shaphan reported to the king, “Your servants are doing everything you told them to do. ¹⁷They got the money that was in the Lord’s temple and are paying the supervisors and the workers.” ¹⁸Then Shaphan said to King Josiah, “Hilkiah the priest gave a book to me.” Then Shaphan read from the book. He was in front of the king as he was reading. ¹⁹When King Josiah heard the words of the law being read, he tore his clothes.* ²⁰Then the king gave a command to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant. ²¹The king said, “Go, ask the Lord for me, and for the people that are left in Israel and in Judah. Ask about the words in the book that was found. The Lord is very angry with us because our ancestors* did not obey the Lord’s word. They did not do all the things this book says to do!” ²²Hilkiah and the king’s servants* went to Huldah the prophetess.* Huldah was Shallum’s wife. Shallum was Tokhath’s son, Tokhath was Hasrah’s son. Hasrah took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. Hilkiah and the king’s servants told Huldah what had happened. ²³Huldah said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Tell King Josiah: ²⁴This is what the Lord says, ‘I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here! I will bring all the terrible things that are written in the book that was read in front of the king of Judah. ²⁵I will do this because the people left me and burned incense* to other gods. Those people made me angry because of all the bad things they have done. So I will pour out my anger on this place. Like a hot burning fire, my anger will not be put out!’ ²⁶“But tell this to King Josiah of Judah. He sent you to ask the Lord: This is what the Lord God of Israel says about the words you heard a little while ago: ²⁷‘Josiah, you repented and you humbled yourself, and tore your clothes.* You cried before me. So, because your heart was tender, ²⁸I will take you to be with your ancestors.* You will go to your grave in peace. You won’t have to see any of the trouble that I will bring on this place and on the people living here.’” Hilkiah and the king’s servants brought back this message to King Josiah. ²⁹Then King Josiah called for all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to come and meet with him. ³⁰The king went up to the Lord’s temple.* All the people from Judah, the people living in Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, both important and not important, were with Josiah. Josiah read to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement.* That book was found in the Lord’s temple. ³¹Then the king stood up in his place. He made an agreement with the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord, and to obey the Lord’s commands, laws, and rules. Josiah agreed to obey with all his heart and soul. He agreed to obey the words of the Agreement written in this book. ³²Then Josiah made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to accept the Agreement. The people of Jerusalem obeyed the Agreement of God, the God their ancestors* obeyed. ³³The people of Israel had idols from many different countries. But Josiah destroyed all of those terrible idols. Josiah made all the people in Israel serve the Lord their God. And as long as Josiah was alive, the people continued to serve the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

ancestor(s) Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. high places Places for worshiping God or false gods. These places were often on the hills and mountains. Asherah Poles Poles used to honor the goddess Asherah. People thought she could help them have many children. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. sacrifice(s) A gift to God. Usually, it was a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar. ruins near all those towns The Hebrew is not clear hear. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. Lord’s house Another name for the temple in Jerusalem. tore ... clothes In Josiah’s time, tearing clothes showed that a person was very upset. Josiah was upset because his people had not obeyed the Lord’s laws. king’s servants “The king’s servants” is missing in the Hebrew. prophetess A woman prophet, someone who spoke messages from God to his people. incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweet-smelling smoke, it was offered as a gift to God. tore … clothes In Josiah’s time, tearing clothes showed that a person was very upset. Josiah was upset because his people had not obeyed the Lord’s laws. ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. take you to be with your ancestors This means that Josiah would die. Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement between God and Israel.