1 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 55 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 worshiping the goddess Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. And he faithfully worshiped the stars in heaven.
4 In the temple, where only the Lord was supposed to be worshiped, Manasseh built altars for the worship of pagan gods