American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;
the mighty man, and the man of war; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder;
the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the expert {Or, charmer}artificer, and the skilful enchanter.
And I will give children to be their princes, and {Or, with childishness shall they rule over them}babes shall rule over them.
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.
When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our {Or, judge}ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand;
in that day shall he lift up his voice, saying, I will not be {Hebrew: a binder up.}a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: ye shall not make me ruler of the people.
Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?
For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the {Greek: good tidings. See Matthew 4:23 margin.}gospel of God?
And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me {That is, My husband.}Ishi, and shalt call me no more {That is, My master.}Baali.
Therefore saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies;
And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a {Or, servant}child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?
And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father's loins.
And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asheroth, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.
He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practised augury, and used enchantments, and practised sorcery, and dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
And he set the graven image of the idol, which he had made, in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law and the statutes and the ordinances given by Moses.
And Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel.
And Jehovah spake to Manasseh, and to his people; but they gave no heed.
Wherefore Jehovah brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh {Or, with hooks}in chains, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
{Or, Likewise...elder; yea, all of you one to another. Gird yourselves with humility}Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.