Study Desk

Hezekiah listened to the messengers, so he showed them what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices, expensive perfumes, his swords and shields, and all his wealth. He showed them everything in his palace and his kingdom.

Everything else Hezekiah did—all his victories, his work on the pool, his work on the tunnel to bring water into the city—is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah.

Then Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he was king fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.

He made his own son pass through fire. He practiced magic and told the future by explaining signs and dreams, and 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 Asherah idol and put it in the Temple. The Lord 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 said through his servants the prophets,

"Manasseh king of Judah has done these hateful things. He has done more evil than the Amorites before him. He also has led Judah to sin with his idols.

Manasseh died and was buried in the garden of his own palace, the garden of Uzza. Then Manasseh's son Amon became king in his place.

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was king for two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz, who was from Jotbah.

Amon did what the Lord said was wrong, as his father Manasseh had done.

He lived in the same way his father had lived: he worshiped the idols his father had worshiped, and he bowed down before them.

Amon rejected the Lord , the God of his ancestors, and did not follow the ways of the Lord .

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 was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah, who was from Bozkath.

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

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

The king stood by the pillar and made an agreement in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and obey his commands, rules, and laws with his whole being, and to obey the words of the agreement written in this book. Then all the people promised to obey the agreement.