1 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king for 55 years in Jerusalem.
2 He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the hated things the other nations had done. And the Lord had forced these nations out of the land ahead of Israel.
3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had torn down the places where false gods were worshiped. But Manasseh rebuilt them. Manasseh also built altars for the Baal gods and made Asherah idols. He bowed down to the stars and worshiped them.
4 The Lord had said about the Temple, “I will be worshiped in Jerusalem forever.” But Manasseh built altars for false gods in the Temple of the Lord.
5 He built altars to worship the stars in the two courtyards of the Temple of the Lord.