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1. When king Hezekiah had survived the interval of time already
mentioned, and had dwelt all that time in peace, he died, having
completed fifty-four years of his life, and reigned twenty-nine.
But when his son Manasseh, whose mother's name was Hephzibah, of
Jerusalem, had taken the kingdom, he departed from the conduct of
his father, and fell into a course of life quite contrary
thereto, and showed himself in his manners most wicked in all
respects, and omitted no sort of impiety, but imitated those
transgressions of the Israelites, by the commission of which
against God they had been destroyed; for he was so hardy as to
defile the temple of God, and the city, and the whole country;
for, by setting out from a contempt of God, he barbarously slew
all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor would he
spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till
Jerusalem was overflown with blood. So God was angry at these
proceedings, and sent prophets to the king, and to the multitude,
by whom he threatened the very same calamities to them which
their brethren the Israelites, upon the like affronts offered to
God, were now under. But these men would not believe their words,
by which belief they might have reaped the advantage of escaping
all those miseries; yet did they in earnest learn that what the
prophets had told them was true.
2. And when they persevered in the same course of life, God
raised up war against them from the king of Babylon and Chaldea,
who sent an army against Judea, and laid waste the country; and
caught king Manasseh by treachery, and ordered him to be brought
to him, and had him under his power to inflict what punishment he
pleased upon him. But then it was that Manasseh perceived what a
miserable condition he was in, and esteeming himself the cause of
all, he besought God to render his enemy humane and merciful to
him. Accordingly, God heard his prayer, and granted him what he
prayed for. So Manasseh was released by the king of Babylon, and
escaped the danger he was in; and when he was come to Jerusalem,
he endeavored, if it were possible, to cast out of his memory
those his former sins against God, of which he now repented, and
to apply himself to a very religious life. He sanctified the
temple, and purged the city, and for the remainder of his days he
was intent on nothing but to return his thanks to God for his
deliverance, and to preserve him propitious to him all his life
long. He also instructed the multitude to do the same, as having
very nearly experienced what a calamity he was fallen into by a
contrary conduct. He also rebuilt the altar, and offered the
legal sacrifices, as Moses commanded. And when he had
re-established what concerned the Divine worship, as it ought to
be, he took care of the security of Jerusalem: he did not only
repair the old walls with great diligence, but added another wall
to the former. He also built very lofty towers, and the
garrisoned places before the city he strengthened, not only in
other respects, but with provisions of all sorts that they
wanted. And indeed, when he had changed his former course, he so
led his life for the time to come, that from the time of his
return to piety towards God he was deemed a happy man, and a
pattern for imitation. When therefore he had lived sixty-seven
years, he departed this life, having reigned fifty-five years,
and was buried in his own garden; and the kingdom came to his son
Amon, whose mother's name was Meshulemeth, of the city of
Jotbath.
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