בֶּן־שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מְנַשֶּׁה בְמָלְכוֹ וַחֲמִשִּׁים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ חֶפְצִי־בָהּ׃ 21:1
2Kin 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years of age at the start of his reign and he was king in Jerusalem fifty-five years. And the name of his mother was Hephzi-bah.
Read through to v. 21:9, then come back and [Return to 2Chr. 33:1]
וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה כְּתוֹעֲבֹת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הוֹרִישׁ יְהוָה מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ 21:2
2Kin 21:2 And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord like the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out from the presence of the children of Israel.
וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּבֶן אֶת־הַבָּמוֹת אֲשֶׁר אִבַּד חִזְקִיָּהוּ אָבִיו וַיָּקֶם מִזְבְּחֹת לַבַּעַל וַיַּעַשׂ אֲשֵׁרָה כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה 21:3 אַחְאָב מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לְכָל־צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיַּעֲבֹד אֹתָם׃
2Kin 21:3 And he turned back and rebuilt the high places that his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed, and erected altars to Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done, and he bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshipped them.
וּבָנָה מִזְבְּחֹת בְּבֵית יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהוָה בִּירוּשָׁלִַם אָשִׂים אֶת־שְׁמִי׃ 21:4
2Kin 21:4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “I will put My name in Jerusalem.”
וַיִּבֶן מִזְבְּחוֹת לְכָל־צְבָא הַשָּׁמָיִם בִּשְׁתֵּי חַצְרוֹת בֵּית־יְהוָה׃ 21:5
2Kin 21:5 And he built altars to all the host of heaven in two of the courts of the house of the Lord.
וְהֶעֱבִיר אֶת־בְּנוֹ בָּאֵשׁ וְעוֹנֵן וְנִחֵשׁ וְעָשָׂה אוֹב וְיִדְּעֹנִים הִרְבָּה לַעֲשׂוֹת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה לְהַכְעִיס׃ 21:6
2Kin 21:6 And he made his son to pass into the fire, and he practiced magic and used enchantments and appointed many necromancers and wizards, doing what was evil in the “eyes” of the Lord, provoking. [Return to Jere. 15:4] [Return to Mica. 6:7]
וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת־פֶּסֶל הָאֲשֵׁרָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה בַּבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהוָה אֶל־דָּוִד וְאֶל־שְׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה 21:7 וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתִּי מִכֹּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָשִׂים אֶת־שְׁמִי לְעוֹלָם׃
2Kin 21:7 And he set the graven image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon, his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever,
וְלֹא אֹסִיף לְהָנִיד רֶגֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן־הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לַאֲבוֹתָם רַק אִם־יִשְׁמְרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר 21:8 צִוִּיתִים וּלְכָל־הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה אֹתָם עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה׃
2Kin 21:8 and I will not continue to let the feet of Israel wander from the soil that I gave to their fathers, only if they will observe to practice according to all that I commanded them and according to the Torah that My servant, Moses, commanded them.”
וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ וַיַּתְעֵם מְנַשֶּׁה לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הָרָע מִן־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁמִיד יְהוָה מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ 21:9
2Kin 21:9 But they had not listened, and Manasseh seduced them to do what was more evil than the heathen whom the Lord plucked down from the presence of the children of Israel.
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה בְּיַד־עֲבָדָיו הַנְּבִיאִים לֵאמֹר׃ 21:10
2Kin 21:10 And the Lord spoke by the hand of his servants, the prophets, saying,
יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה מְנַשֶּׁה מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה הַתֹּעֵבוֹת הָאֵלֶּה הֵרַע מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂוּ הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר לְפָנָיו 21:11 וַיַּחֲטִא גַם־אֶת־יְהוּדָה בְּגִלּוּלָיו׃
2Kin 21:11 “For the reason that Manasseh, king of Judah, has done these abominations more evil than all that the Amorites who were before him did, and also made Judah to sin with his idols,
לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי מֵבִיא רָעָה עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִַם וִיהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר כָּל־ (שֹׁמְעָיו) 21:12 [שֹׁמְעָהּ] תִּצַּלְנָה שְׁתֵּי אָזְנָיו׃
2Kin 21:12 therefore, thus says the Lord, God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah that anyone hearing of it, the two of his ears shall tingle.’
The word in parentheses has a masculine pronoun referring back to the noun “evil,” which is feminine. And the number of the participle verb translated as “hearing of” is plural and should be singular. The corrections appear in the brackets.
וְנָטִיתִי עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִַם אֵת קָו שֹׁמְרוֹן וְאֶת־מִשְׁקֹלֶת בֵּית אַחְאָב וּמָחִיתִי אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם כַּאֲשֶׁר־יִמְחֶה 21:13 אֶת־הַצַּלַּחַת מָחָה וְהָפַךְ עַל־פָּנֶיהָ׃
2Kin 21:13 ‘And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab and I will wipe away Jerusalem as one would wipe a dish, wiping and turning on its face.’
The line and the plummet were tools of construction, used here by the prophet to imply the total destruction of Jerusalem.
וְנָטַשְׁתִּי אֵת שְׁאֵרִית נַחֲלָתִי וּנְתַתִּים בְּיַד אֹיְבֵיהֶם וְהָיוּ לְבַז וְלִמְשִׁסָּה לְכָל־אֹיְבֵיהֶם׃ 21:14
2Kin 21:14 ‘And I will cast off the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall be for prey and for spoil for all their enemies,
יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶת־הָרַע בְּעֵינַי וַיִּהְיוּ מַכְעִסִים אֹתִי מִן־הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ אֲבוֹתָם מִמִּצְרַיִם וְעַד 21:15
הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃
2Kin 21:15 for the reason that they did what is evil in My ‘eyes’ and were provoking Me from the day that their fathers came forth from Egypt and until this day.’”
וְגַם דָּם נָקִי שָׁפַךְ מְנַשֶּׁה הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד עַד אֲשֶׁר־מִלֵּא אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם פֶּה לָפֶה לְבַד מֵחַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר 21:16 הֶחֱטִיא אֶת־יְהוּדָה לַעֲשׂוֹת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה׃
2Kin 21:16 And also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until when he filled Jerusalem end to end, beside his sins by which he made Judah to sin, doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי מְנַשֶּׁה וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְחַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא הֲלֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים 21:17 לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה׃
2Kin 21:17 And the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he accomplished and his sins that he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the chronicles of the days of the kings of Judah?
וַיִּשְׁכַּב מְנַשֶּׁה עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּגַן־בֵּיתוֹ בְּגַן־עֻזָּא וַיִּמְלֹךְ אָמוֹן בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ 21:18
2Kin 21:18 And Manasseh slept with his ancestors and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and his son, Amon, became king in his place. [Return to 2Chr. 33:20]
בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה אָמוֹן בְּמָלְכוֹ וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנִים מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ מְשֻׁלֶּמֶת בַּת־חָרוּץ 21:19 מִן־יָטְבָה׃
2Kin 21:19 Amon was twenty-two years of age at the start of his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem two years. And the name of his mother was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. [Return to 2Chr. 33:21]
וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה מְנַשֶּׁה אָבִיו׃ 21:20
2Kin 21:20 And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord as his father, Manasseh, had done.
וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּכָל־הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־הָלַךְ אָבִיו וַיַּעֲבֹד אֶת־הַגִּלֻּלִים אֲשֶׁר עָבַד אָבִיו וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לָהֶם׃ 21:21
2Kin 21:21 And he walked in all the ways that his father walked, and he worshiped the idols that his father had worshiped, and bowed down to them. [Return to 2Chr. 33:22]
וַיַּעֲזֹב אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתָיו וְלֹא הָלַךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ יְהוָה׃ 21:22
2Kin 21:22 And he forsook the Lord, God of his fathers, and did not walk in the ways of the Lord.
וַיִּקְשְׁרוּ עַבְדֵי־אָמוֹן עָלָיו וַיָּמִיתוּ אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּבֵיתוֹ׃ 21:23
2Kin 21:23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and slew the king in his house.
וַיַּךְ עַם־הָאָרֶץ אֵת כָּל־הַקֹּשְׁרִים עַל־הַמֶּלֶךְ אָמוֹן וַיַּמְלִיכוּ עַם־הָאָרֶץ אֶת־יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בְנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ 21:24
2Kin 21:24 Then the people of the land slew all the conspirers against king Amon, and the people of the land made his son, Josiah, king in his place. [Return to 2Chr. 33:24]
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי אָמוֹן אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הֲלֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה׃ 21:25
2Kin 21:25 And the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written on the scroll of the chronicles of the days of the kings of Judah?
וַיִּקְבֹּר אֹתוֹ בִּקְבֻרָתוֹ בְּגַן־עֻזָּא וַיִּמְלֹךְ יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בְנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ 21:26
2Kin 21:26 And he buried him in his sepulcher in the garden of Uzza, and his son, Josiah, became king in his place.
A possible instance of carelessness by the scribe appears in this verse. Who does the pronoun “he” refer to? I imagine it must refer to Josiah. Tsk, tsk!
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