1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-five years.
2 Following the disgusting practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out of the land as his people advanced, Manasseh sinned against the Lord.
3 He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for the worship of Baal, made images of the goddess Asherah, and worshiped the stars.
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple, the place that the Lord had said was where he should be worshiped forever.
5 In the two courtyards of the Temple he built altars for the worship of the stars.