2 Tawarikh 33:12-24

33:12 In his pain ¹  Manasseh ²  asked the Lord his God for mercy ³  and truly ⁴  humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. ⁵  33:13 When he prayed to the Lord, ⁶  the Lord ⁷  responded to him ⁸  and answered favorably ⁹  his cry for mercy. The Lord ¹⁰  brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh realized that the Lord is the true God.

33:14 After this Manasseh ¹¹  built up the outer wall of the City of David ¹²  on the west side of the Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate and all around the terrace; he made it much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities in Judah.

33:15 He removed the foreign gods and images from the Lord’s temple and all the altars he had built on the hill of the Lord’s temple and in Jerusalem; he threw them outside the city. 33:16 He erected the altar of the Lord and offered on it peace offerings and thank offerings. He told the people of ¹³  Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 33:17 The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

33:18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the prophets ¹⁴  spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are recorded ¹⁵  in the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 33:19 The Annals of the Prophets include his prayer, give an account of how the Lord responded to it, record all his sins and unfaithful acts, and identify the sites where he built high places and erected Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself. ¹⁶  33:20 Manasseh passed away ¹⁷  and was buried in his palace. His son Amon replaced him as king.

Amon’s Reign

33:21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸  33:22 He did evil in the sight of ¹⁹  the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. He offered sacrifices to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and worshiped ²⁰  them. 33:23 He did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹  Amon was guilty of great sin. ²²  33:24 His servants conspired against him and killed him in his palace.

[33:12]  ¹ tn Or “distress.”

[33:12]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:12]  ³ tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord his God.”

[33:12]  ⁴ tn Or “greatly.”

[33:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers.”

[33:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “was entreated by him,” or “allowed himself to be entreated by him.”

[33:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “heard.”

[33:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:14]  ¹² sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.

[33:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “told Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” here by metonymy for the people of Judah.

[33:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “seers.”

[33:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “look, they are.”

[33:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and his prayer and being entreated by him, and all his sin and his unfaithfulness and the places where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself – behold, they are written on the words of his seers.”

[33:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

[33:21]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[33:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “served.”

[33:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “as Manasseh his father had humbled himself.”

[33:23]  ²² tn Heb “for he, Amon, multiplied guilt.”