Study Desk

Then the Lord sent an angel who killed all the soldiers, leaders, and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king went back to his own country in disgrace. When he went into the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him with a sword.

But Hezekiah did not thank God for his kindness, because he was so proud. So the Lord was angry with him and the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Hezekiah had many riches and much honor. He made treasuries for his silver, gold, gems, spices, shields, and other valuable things.

Hezekiah died and was buried on a hill, where the graves of David's ancestors are. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem honored Hezekiah when he died, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

He made his children pass through fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. He practiced magic and witchcraft and told the future by explaining signs and dreams. He got advice from mediums and fortune-tellers. He did many things the Lord said were wrong, which made the Lord angry.

Manasseh carved an idol and put it in the Temple of God. God had said to David and his son Solomon about the Temple, "I will be worshiped forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they did not listen.

So the Lord brought the king of Assyria's army commanders to attack Judah. They captured Manasseh, put hooks in him, placed bronze chains on his hands, and took him to Babylon.

As Manasseh suffered, he begged the Lord his God for help and humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.

When Manasseh prayed, the Lord heard him and had pity on him. So the Lord let him return to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is the true God.

The other things Manasseh did as king, his prayer to his God, and what the seers said to him in the name of the Lord , the God of Israel—all are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

Manasseh's prayer and God's pity for him, his sins, his unfaithfulness, the places he built for worshiping gods and the Asherah idols before he humbled himself—all are written in the book of the seers.

Manasseh died and was buried in his palace. Then Manasseh's son Amon became king in his place.

He did what the Lord said was wrong, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the carved idols Manasseh had made.

Amon did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done. Instead, Amon sinned even more.

King Amon's officers made plans against him and killed him in his palace.

Then the people of the land killed all those who had made plans to kill King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

He did what the Lord said was right. He lived as his ancestor David had lived, and he did not stop doing what was right.

In his eighth year as king while he was still young, Josiah began to obey the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king, Josiah began to remove from Judah and Jerusalem the gods, the places for worshiping gods, the Asherah idols, and the wooden and metal idols.

When the king heard the words of the Teachings, he tore his clothes to show how upset he was.