2 Kings 21:19-25

Amon’s Reign over Judah

21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother ²  was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 21:20 He did evil in the sight of ³  the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. 21:21 He followed in the footsteps of his father ⁴  and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols ⁵  which his father had worshiped. ⁶  21:22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. ⁷  21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 21:24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they ⁸  made his son Josiah king in his place.

21:25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ⁹ 

2 Kings 21:1

Manasseh’s Reign over Judah

21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ¹⁰  His mother ¹¹  was Hephzibah.

2 Kings 3:14

3:14 Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all ¹²  lives (whom I serve), ¹³  if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, ¹⁴  I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you. ¹⁵ 

Matthew 1:10

1:10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, ¹⁶  Amon the father of Josiah,

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

⁴ tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”

⁵ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

⁶ tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”

⁷ tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the Lord.”

⁸ tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.

⁹ tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew mss have וְכָל (vÿcol), “and all,” before אֲשֶׁר (’asher). In this case we can translate, “As for the rest of the events of Amon’s reign, and all his accomplishments,….”

¹⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹¹ tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

¹² tn Traditionally “the Lord of hosts.”

¹³ tn Heb “before whom I stand.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “if I did not lift up the face of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “I would not look at you or see you.”

¹⁶ tc ᾿Αμώς (Amws) is the reading found in the earliest and best witnesses (א B C [D^luc] γ δ θ ˹ 33 pc it sa bo), and as such is most likely original, but this is a variant spelling of the name ᾿Αμών (Amwn). The translation uses the more well-known spelling “Amon” found in the Hebrew MT and the majority of LXX mss. See also the textual discussion of “Asa” versus “Asaph” (vv. 7-8); the situation is similar.