1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled fifty-five years from Jerusalem.
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 sacred poles for worshipping the goddess Asherah. And he faithfully worshipped the stars in the sky.
4. In the temple, where only the Lord was supposed to be worshipped, Manasseh built altars for pagan gods
5. and for the stars. He placed these altars in both courtyards of the temple
6-7. and even set up a stone image of a foreign god. Manasseh practised magic and witchcraft; he asked fortune-tellers for advice and sacrificed his own sons in Hinnom Valley. He did many other sinful things and made the Lord very angry.Years ago, God had told David and Solomon:Jerusalem is the place I prefer above all others in Israel. It belongs to me, and there in the temple I will be worshipped for ever.