¶ Manasses is taken prysoner / and after destroyeth the Idoles. He dyeth after him succeadeth Amō. Amō was kylled of his owne people, and Iosiah his sonne raygneth for him.
CAP. XXXIII.
[ A] MAnasses was .xij. yere old when he was made kynge,* 1.1 and raigned .lv. yere in Ie¦rusalem. And he dyd wyckedlye in the sight of the Lorde, lyke vnto the abominaci∣ons of the Panyms which the Lorde cast out before the children of Israel. For he went and buylt agayne the hylaulters which Ezechias his father had broken downe. And he rered vp aulters vnto Baals, and made groues, & bo∣wed him selfe vnto all the host of heauen and serued thē. And he buylt aulters in the house of the Lorde: Of which the Lorde had sayde* 1.2 in Ierusalem shall my name be for euer. And he made aulters vnto all the host of hea¦uen in the two courtes of the house of ye Lord And he burnt his children in fyre in the valey of the sonnes of Hennon. And he obserued dis¦mal dayes and occupyed wytchecraft and sor∣sery, and mayntened workers with spirites & fears of fortunes: and wrought moche euyll in the sight of the Lorde, to anger him with.
[ B] And he put the ke••ued Image of an Idole which he had made, in the house of God. Of which house God sayde to Dauid and to Sa∣lomon his sonne, in this house here in Ieru∣salem which I haue chosen out of all the try∣bes,* 1.3 I wil put my name for euer, & no more bringe the seate of Israell forthe of the lande which I haue ordeyned for your fathers, In case they shalbe dyligent to do all I haue com¦maunded by Moses in all the lawe ordinaun¦tes and maners. But Manasses made Iuda & the inhabiters of Ierusalem to erre, and to do worse then the Heythen which the Lorde de∣stroyed before the children of Israel. And whē the Lorde spake to Manasses and to his peo∣ple, they attended not to him.
Wherfore the Lorde brought vpon them ye Capitaynes of the host of the kynge of Assur, which toke Manasses in an holde and bound [ C] him with chaynes and caryed him to Babilon And when he was in tribulacion he be sought the Lorde his God, and humbled ••im self ex∣cedyngly before the God of his fathers, and made intercession to him: and he was entrea∣ted of him and herde his prayer and brought him agayne to Ierusalem into his kyngdome. Then Manasses knewe how that the Lorde was the very God. After that, he buylt a wal withoute the cytie of Dauid on the west syde of Gihon in the broke and so forth to s••••hgate and rounde about Ophel and brought it vp of a very greate heyght, and put Capitayn••s of warre in all the stronge cyties of Iuda. And he toke away straunge goddes and the Idole out of the house of God, and all the aultares that he had buylt in the moūt of the house of God and in Ierusalem, and cast th••m ••••te of the cytie. And he made an aulter vnto ye Lord and sacrificed theron peaxoffringes and thank offringes, and charged Iuda to serue ye Lorde God of Israel. Neuerthelesse the people byd offer styll in the hyllaultares, howe be it vnto the Lorde their God only.
The reste of the actes of Manasses and his prayer vnto his God, and the wordes of the [ D] fears of vysions that spake to him in ye name of the Lorde God of Israell, are written a∣monge the dedes of the kynges of Israel. And his prayer and how that he was herde, and al his synne and trespace, and the places where he made hyllaulters and set vp groues & ker∣ued Images before he was mekened, are writ¦ten amonge the dedes of the sears of visions. And when Manasses was layde to rest with his fathers, they buryed him in his own house and Amon* 1.4 his sonne raygned in his rowme. Amon was .xxij. yeres olde, when he began to raygne, and raygned two yere in Ierusalem. And he dyd that displeased the Lorde lyke vn to Manasses his father, for Amon sacrificed to all the kerued Images whiche Manasses his father made, and serued theym, and me••ened not him selfe before the Lorde, as Manasses his father had mekened him selfe: But Amon trespassed greatly. Wherfore his owne seruaū¦tes conspired against him and slew him in his owne house. And the people of the lande slew all that had conspired against kynge Amon. And therto the people of the lande made Io∣sias his sonne kynge in his rowme.