2 Chronicles 33

1 Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, son of Hezekiah] was twelve [a son or descendant] years old when he became [to reign, to rule as king] king, and he reigned [exercising kingly power, ruling] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Judah] fifty-five [a multiple of ten, a small quantity] years. word study 2 And he did evil [wickedness, morally bad] in the sight [presence, before the eyes] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] by following [imitating, patterning after] the abominations [detestable practices, disgusting things] of the nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrew peoples] that the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme Ruler] had driven out [dispossessed, cast out] before [in the presence of] the Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people]. word study 3 For he rebuilt [restored, reestablished] the high places [cultic platforms, idolatrous shrines] that his father Hezekiah [a king of Judah, a faithful servant of God] had torn down [destroyed, demolished], and he raised up altars [places of sacrifice, worship sites] for the Baals [false gods, idols] and made Asherah poles [a wooden pole or grove of the goddess Asherah]. And he worshiped [bowed down, paid homage] and served [obeyed, followed] all the host of heaven [the stars, celestial bodies, divine army]. word study 4 Manasseh also built [constructed, established] altars [places of sacrifice] in the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], of which the LORD [the supreme God] had said, “My Name [identity, character] will remain [be, exist] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Palestine] forever [always, eternally].” word study 5 In both [two, a pair of] courtyards [outer squares, open spaces] of the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], he built [constructed, established] altars [places of sacrifice, worship sites] to all [everything, the entirety of] the host [army, multitude] of heaven [the sky, the celestial realm]. word study 6 He sacrificed his sons [as an offering, to burn them alive] in the fire [burning, flame] in the Valley of Hinnom [a place of lamentation, a valley of sorrow]. He practiced sorcery [magic, seeking hidden knowledge], divination [trying to predict the future, using omens], and witchcraft [using supernatural powers for evil, manipulating others], and consulted mediums [those who claim to contact the dead, spiritists] and spiritists [those who seek to communicate with the dead, necromancers]. He did great evil [wickedness, morally wrong actions] in the sight of the LORD [in God’s presence, before His eyes], provoking Him to anger [stirring up God’s wrath, offending His holiness]. word study 7 Manasseh even took the carved image [idol, false god] he had made and set it up in the house [temple, dwelling place] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator], of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple [place of worship] and in Jerusalem [city of peace], which I have chosen [selected, set apart] out of all the tribes [clans, families] of Israel, I will establish [put, place] My Name [reputation, character] forever [for all eternity, without end]. word study 8 I will never again [not at all, under no circumstances] cause the feet [steps, paths] of the Israelites [Jacob’s descendants, God’s chosen people] to leave [to turn aside, to depart from] the land [the earth, the promised territory] that I assigned [appointed, given] to your fathers [ancestors, forefathers], if only [except, unless] they are careful [watchful, diligent] to do [to make, to obey] all [everything, the whole] that I have commanded [given orders, instructed] them through Moses [the leader, the prophet]—all the laws [instructions, teachings], statutes [decrees, ordinances], and judgments [all the laws, statutes, the entire covenant] [justice, verdicts].” word study 9 So Manasseh [seduced, led astray] led the people of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah] and Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Palestine] astray, so that they did greater [more, worse] evil [bad, morally wrong] than the nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrews] that the LORD [Yehovah, God] had destroyed [annihilated, devastated] before the Israelites [descendants of Jacob]. word study 10 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] spoke [to communicate, to utter words] to Manasseh [a king of Judah] and his people [a nation, a group of individuals], but they did not [would not, refused to] listen [to hear, to obey, to heed]. word study 11 So the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] brought against them the military commanders [captains of the host, rulers] of the king [royal person, monarch] of Assyria [Asshur, the ancestor of the Assyrians], who captured [to seize, took control of] Manasseh [the grandson of Jacob, a large tribe], put a hook [in chains, with a ring] in his nose, bound him with bronze [copper, base metal] shackles [fetters, chains], and took him to Babylon [Babel, a city of confusion]. word study 12 And in his distress [deep trouble, affliction], Manasseh sought [besought, prayed to] the favor [help, mercy] of the LORD [Yehovah, the God of covenant] his God [Elohim, the supreme God] and earnestly [greatly, exceedingly] humbled [made low, submitted] himself before the God [Elohim, the one true God] of his fathers [ancestors, forefathers]. word study 13 And when he [Manasseh, the king of Judah] prayed [made supplication, cried out to God] to Him, the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] received his plea [heard his cry, was entreated by him] and heard his petition [supplication, humble request]; so He brought him back to Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Judah] and to his kingdom [royal power, dominion]. Then Manasseh knew [ascertained, understood] that the LORD [the one true God, Elohim] is God [the supreme ruler, having all power and authority]. word study 14 After this [following these events], Manasseh rebuilt [restored, renovated] the outer [external, exterior] wall of the City of David [the capital city of Israel, named after King David] from west [the direction of the setting sun] of Gihon [a river or valley near Jerusalem] in the valley [a low area of land] to the entrance [the gate, the doorway] of the Fish Gate [a specific gate in Jerusalem], and he brought it around [surrounded, encircled] the hill of Ophel [a fortified ridge in Jerusalem] and heightened [elevated, lifted up] it considerably [to a great height, very much]. He also stationed [appointed, assigned] military commanders [valiant captains, strong leaders] in all [every, the whole] the fortified [strong, secure] cities of Judah [the tribe and region of Judah]. word study 15 He removed [took away, disposed of] the foreign [strange, heathen] gods and the idol [image, statue] from the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], along with all [everything, the entirety of] the altars [places of sacrifice] he had built [constructed, established] on the temple mount [hill] and in Jerusalem [the city of peace], and he dumped [threw, cast] them outside [beyond the city walls, outdoors] the city. word study 16 Then he restored [repaired, rebuilt] the altar [place of sacrifice] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and sacrificed [offered, slaughtered] peace offerings [voluntary sacrifices to show thanks] and thank offerings [sacrifices of praise and gratitude] on it, and he told [commanded, instructed] Judah [the tribe descended from Judah] to serve [worship, obey] the LORD [the supreme God], the God [Elohim, the one supreme God] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob and his descendants]. word study 17 Nevertheless [truly, indeed], the people [a nation, a community] still [continuing, again] sacrificed [to slaughter an animal, offer a religious offering] at the high places [cultic platforms, elevations], but only [except, solely] to the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] their God [Elohim, the one supreme God]. word study 18 As for the rest [remainder, excess] of the acts of Manasseh [a king of Judah], along with his prayer [supplication, request] to his God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] and the words [matters, affairs] of the seers [prophets, visionaries] who spoke to him in the name [identity, character] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the God [Elohim] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob], they are indeed written [recorded, documented] in the Chronicles [events, history] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob]. word study 19 His prayer [and how God answered him] and how God received his plea, as well as all his sin [trespass] and unfaithfulness, and the sites [or locations, where he built cultic platforms] where he built high places [or elevations, for idol worship] and set up Asherah poles [trees] and idols [or carved images, of false gods] before he humbled himself [or bent his knee, in submission], they are indeed written in the Records [or history, of the prophets] of the Seers [or visionaries, who received revelations from God]. word study 20 And Manasseh [slept with his ancestors] rested with his fathers and was buried [laid to rest, interred] at his palace [house, dwelling place]. And his son [descendant, offspring] Amon [reigned as king, ruled in his place] reigned in his place. word study 21 Amon [son of Manasseh, a king of Judah] was twenty-two [two and twenty] years old when he became [to reign, to rule as king] king, and he reigned [exercised royal authority] in Jerusalem [the city of peace] two [a pair] years. word study 22 And he did [that which was] evil [bad, wicked, morally wrong] in the sight [eye, perception, judgment] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God], as his father Manasseh [the ancestor of a large tribe] had done. Amon [the king of Judah] served [worshiped, obeyed] and sacrificed [offered, slaughtered] to all [every, the entire collection] the idols [carved images, false gods] that his father Manasseh had made [created, fashioned], word study 23 but he did not [refuse to, failed to] humble [be lowly, bend the knee] himself before the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] as his father [ancestor, paternal figure] Manasseh had done; instead, Amon [the king of Judah] increased [multiplied, grew] his guilt [sin or wrongdoing]. word study 24 Then the servants [or slaves, attendants] of Amon conspired [to tie or bind, plotted] against him and killed [put to death, slew] him in his palace [own house, dwelling place]. word study 25 But the people [of Judah, the nation] of the land [the earth, territory] killed [slew, put to death] all those who had conspired [plotted, tied together] against King [royal ruler] Amon [son of Manasseh], and they made [caused to reign] his son [descendant, offspring] Josiah [whom Jehovah heals] king [ruler, monarch] in his place [stead, position]. word study