New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
2 Kings 21
1
Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 55 years. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Isaiah 62:4
2
Manasseh did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He followed the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. He had driven those nations out to make room for the people of Israel.
3
Manasseh rebuilt the high places. His father Hezekiah had destroyed them. Manasseh also set up altars to the god Baal. He made a pole that was used to worship the goddess Asherah. Ahab, the king of Israel, had done those same things. Manasseh even bowed down to all of the stars. And he worshiped them.
Reference
4
He built altars in the Lord's temple. The Lord had said about his temple, "I will put my Name there in Jerusalem."
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Kings 8:29
2 Samuel 7:13
Jeremiah 32:34
References Lord
Deuteronomy 12:5
1 Kings 9:3
5
In both courtyards of the Lord's temple Manasseh built altars to honor all of the stars.
Reference
6
He sacrificed his own son in the fire to another god. He practiced all kinds of evil magic. He got messages from those who had died. He talked to the spirits of the dead. He did many things that were evil in the sight of the Lord. He made him very angry.
Reference
Creation
2 Kings 16:3
Evil
2 Kings 17:17
Parallel theme
Leviticus 19:26
References Lord
Leviticus 18:21
Spirit
Leviticus 19:31
2 Chronicles 33:6
7
Manasseh had carved a pole for worshiping Asherah. He put it in the temple. The Lord had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the temple. He had said, "My Name will be in this temple and in Jerusalem forever. Out of all of the cities in the tribes of Israel I have chosen Jerusalem.
Reference
Creation
1 Kings 9:3
Parallel theme
2 Chronicles 7:16
1 Kings 8:29
Jeremiah 32:34
Nehemiah 1:9
References Lord
Deuteronomy 16:21
2 Kings 23:27
2 Kings 23:6
2 Kings 21:4
2 Chronicles 33:15
8
I gave this land to your people who lived long ago. I will not make the Israelites wander away from it again. But they must be careful to do everything I commanded them. They must obey the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them."
Reference
References Israel
2 Samuel 7:10
9
But the people didn't pay any attention. Manasseh led them down the wrong path. They did more evil things than the nations the Lord had destroyed to make room for the people of Israel.
Reference
Evil
Proverbs 29:12
10
The Lord spoke through his servants the prophets. He said,
11
"Manasseh, the king of Judah, has committed terrible sins. I hate them. Manasseh has done more evil things than the Amorites who were in the land before him. And he has led Judah to commit sin by worshiping his statues of gods.
Reference
12
"I am the God of Israel. I tell you, 'I am going to bring trouble on Jerusalem and Judah. It will be so horrible that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.
Reference
13
I will measure out punishment against Jerusalem, just as I did against Samaria. I used a plumb line against the royal family of Ahab to prove that they did not measure up to my standards. I will use the same plumb line against Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem, just as someone wipes a dish. I will wipe it and turn it upside down.
Reference
14
I will desert those who remain among my people. I will hand them over to their enemies. All of their enemies will rob them.
Reference
15
" 'That is because my people have done what is evil in my sight. They have made me very angry. They have done that from the day their own people came out of Egypt until this very day.' "
16
Manasseh also spilled the blood of many people who weren't guilty of doing anything wrong. He spilled so much blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end of the city to the other. And he caused Judah to commit sin. So they also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Reference
Creation
2 Kings 21:11
17
The other events of the rule of Manasseh are written down. Everything he did is written down. That includes the sin he committed. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.
18
Manasseh joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in his palace garden. It was called the garden of Uzza. Manasseh's son Amon became the next king after him.
Reference
📍 Uzza
People
19
Amon was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for two years. His mother's name was Meshullemeth. She was the daughter of Haruz. She was from Jotbah.
📍 Jotbah
People
20
Amon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done.
21
He lived the way his father had lived. He worshiped the statues of the gods his father had worshiped. He bowed down to them.
22
He deserted the Lord, the God of his people. He didn't live the way the Lord wanted him to.
Reference
24
Then the people of the land killed all those who had made plans against King Amon. They made his son Josiah king in his place.
Reference
Kingdom
2 Kings 14:5
25
The other events of the rule of Amon are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.
26
Amon's body was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. His son Josiah became the next king after him.
Reference
📍 Uzza
Kingdom
2 Kings 21:18
Chapter Summary
This chapter describes one of the darkest periods in Judah's history. The chapter focuses first on Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, whose fifty-five-year reign reverses many of his father's reforms and introduces severe religious and moral corruption into Judah.
Manasseh becomes king when he is only twelve years old. Although his father Hezekiah had removed idols and restored worship of the Lord, Manasseh rebuilds the high places and introduces Baal worship and Asherah worship. He even places pagan religious objects inside the temple of the Lord.
His actions become increasingly serious. He worships heavenly bodies, practices magic and divination, consults mediums and spiritists, and sacrifices his own son in fire. The chapter also condemns him for shedding large amounts of innocent blood throughout Jerusalem.
The writer explains that Manasseh's actions are so serious that Judah becomes worse than the nations that had lived in the land before Israel. God therefore announces that severe judgment will eventually come upon Jerusalem. The imagery of a measuring line and a plumb line indicates that God will judge Jerusalem carefully and deliberately. The city will eventually experience the kind of destruction that had already fallen upon Samaria.
Manasseh dies after his extraordinarily long reign and is succeeded by his son Amon. Amon follows his father's religious practices rather than correcting them. His reign lasts only two years before his own officials assassinate him.
The people of Judah respond by killing the conspirators and placing Amon's son Josiah on the throne.
The chapter therefore ends on a dark but important transition. Manasseh and Amon have deepened Judah's spiritual decline, but Josiah's accession will eventually lead to one of the greatest religious reform movements in Judah's history.
Manasseh becomes king when he is only twelve years old. Although his father Hezekiah had removed idols and restored worship of the Lord, Manasseh rebuilds the high places and introduces Baal worship and Asherah worship. He even places pagan religious objects inside the temple of the Lord.
His actions become increasingly serious. He worships heavenly bodies, practices magic and divination, consults mediums and spiritists, and sacrifices his own son in fire. The chapter also condemns him for shedding large amounts of innocent blood throughout Jerusalem.
The writer explains that Manasseh's actions are so serious that Judah becomes worse than the nations that had lived in the land before Israel. God therefore announces that severe judgment will eventually come upon Jerusalem. The imagery of a measuring line and a plumb line indicates that God will judge Jerusalem carefully and deliberately. The city will eventually experience the kind of destruction that had already fallen upon Samaria.
Manasseh dies after his extraordinarily long reign and is succeeded by his son Amon. Amon follows his father's religious practices rather than correcting them. His reign lasts only two years before his own officials assassinate him.
The people of Judah respond by killing the conspirators and placing Amon's son Josiah on the throne.
The chapter therefore ends on a dark but important transition. Manasseh and Amon have deepened Judah's spiritual decline, but Josiah's accession will eventually lead to one of the greatest religious reform movements in Judah's history.