The Divided Kingdom

Then, when he was in distress, he began to appease the anger of ADONAI, abjectly humbling himself before the God of his ancestors.

He prayed to him; and God was moved by his plea, paid attention to his entreaty and brought him back to Yerushalayim, to his kingly office. Then M'nasheh understood that ADONAI really is God.

After this he built an outer wall for the City of David on the west side of Gichon, in the valley, extending as far as the entrance at the Fish Gate; it encompassed the 'Ofel, and he built it very high. He stationed army commanders in all the fortified cities of Y'hudah.

He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of ADONAI and all the altars he had built on the hill of the house of ADONAI and in Yerushalayim, and threw them out of the city.

He repaired the altar of ADONAI and offered on it sacrifices as peace offerings and for thanksgiving; and he ordered Y'hudah to serve ADONAI the God of Isra'el.

However, the people continued sacrificing on the high places, although only to ADONAI their God.

Other activities of M'nasheh, his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of ADONAI the God of Isra'el are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra'el.

Also his prayer and how God was moved by his plea, all his sin and disloyalty, and the locations where he built high places and set up the sacred poles and carved images before he humbled himself are written in the History of the Seers.

Then M'nasheh slept with his ancestors and was buried at his own house, and Amon his son took his place as king.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for two years in Yerushalayim.

He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, as had M'nasheh his father. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images that M'nasheh his father had made, and served them.

He did not humble himself before ADONAI, as M'nasheh his father had done; rather, this Amon kept adding to his guilt.

His servants conspired against him and put the king to death in his own palace.

But the people of the land put to death all those who had been part of the conspiracy against King Amon. Then the people of the land made Yoshiyahu his son king in place of him.

Yoshiyahu was eight years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for thirty-one years in Yerushalayim.

He did what was right from ADONAI's perspective, living entirely in the manner of David his ancestor and turning away neither to the right nor to the left.

For in the eighth year of his reign, when he was still young, he began seeking after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year, he began cleansing Y'hudah and Yerushalayim from the high places, the sacred poles, and the carved and cast metal images.

In his presence they broke down the altars of the ba'alim, and he chopped down the pillars for sun-worship mounted above them. He smashed the sacred poles and the carved and cast metal images, grinding them to dust, which he threw on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, thus cleansing Y'hudah and Yerushalayim.

He did likewise in the cities of M'nasheh, Efrayim, Shim'on and even as far as Naftali, in their surrounding ruins.

He broke down the altars, beat the sacred poles and carved images to powder and chopped down the pillars for sun-worship throughout all the land of Isra'el. Then he returned to Yerushalayim.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shafan the son of Atzalyahu, Ma'aseiyah the governor of the city and Yo'ach the son of Yo'achaz the recorder to repair the house of ADONAI his God.

They went to Hilkiyahu the cohen hagadol and handed over to him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the L'vi'im who guarded the doors had collected from M'nasheh, Efrayim, the rest of Isra'el and all Y'hudah and Binyamin. Then they returned to Yerushalayim.

They gave it to the supervisors of the work being done in the house of ADONAI; and those doing the work in the house of ADONAI used it to repair and restore the house -

that is, they gave it to the carpenters and construction-workers to purchase worked stone, timber for the crossbeams and roof beams for the houses which the kings of Y'hudah had destroyed.