1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled fifty-five years from Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah.
2 Manasseh disobeyed the Lord by following the disgusting customs of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel.
3 He rebuilt the local shrines that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He built altars for the god Baal and set up a sacred pole for worshipping the goddess Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. And he faithfully worshipped the stars in heaven.
4 In the temple, where only the Lord was supposed to be worshipped, Manasseh built altars for pagan gods
5 and for the stars. He placed these altars in both courts of the temple,
6-7 and even set up the pole for Asherah there. Manasseh practised magic and witchcraft; he asked fortune-tellers for advice and sacrificed his own son. He did many sinful things and made the Lord very angry.Years ago the Lord had told David and his son Solomon:Jerusalem is the place I prefer above all others in Israel. It belongs to me, and there I will be worshipped for ever.